Family kidnap horror by cartel hitmen at gunpoint but they took the wrong people

Probable drug cartel hitmen accidentally kidnapped the wrong family, including their children.

On Monday (July 4), relatives of the family filed a police report after armed men abducted seven people at a bus stop in the downtown area of Ascensión, Chihuahua, Mexico.

An eighth potential victim managed to escape and raise the alarm.

READ MORE: Heir to the world’s most powerful drug cartel jailed for 9 years amid succession crisis

Witnesses said that the men arrived in two vehicles, threatening young people at the bus stop before beating them and forcing them into the cars.

Mario González, 18, Eloy González, 20, Aurora González, 16, Samuel Ponce, 15, Estela Ponce, 13 and Raúl Ponse, 31, remained missing for several hours.

However, according to BorderlandBeat, the armed cell later realised they had made an error and the victims were released safe and sound in the neighbouring municipality of Guerrero.

Kidnappings are a grave problem in Mexico where hundreds of people go missing each year.

It is a tactic often deployed by drug cartels, who ransom the victims back to their families in order to fund their trafficking operations.

People can also be kidnapped if they are in some way related to a cartel member who has angered a criminal group.

Politicians are also at risk as rival cartels seek to install corrupt officials in local and regional governments.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

According to Statista, a staggering 1,390 kidnapping cases were reported in Mexico in 2017.

The situation does seem to be improving. In 2019 that number dropped to 1,323 and in 2021 it plummeted down to 625.

However, given levels of corruption in Mexican law enforcement, a weak judicial system and widespread fear of criminal groups, it is thought that the actual number of people kidnapped remains far higher than the numbers suggest.

READ NEXT:

• Hunt on for 'British Pablo Escobar' after 300kg cocaine bust in banana shipment

• Drug cartel hitman dies after savage attack from his own gang boss' pet tiger

• Cartel horror as seven brutalised corpses dumped at tourist spot with chilling message

• Alleged cartel hitman for El Chapo's sons 'caught masturbating in public under car'

• El Chapo interrogates kidnapped cartel member in chilling unearthed clip

Source: Read Full Article