Chihuahua, Mexico has become a focal point for concern that over 1,200 migrants have been abducted by criminal cartels in the past seven months. Migrants, often vulnerable and in pursuit of a new beginning at the border, are reportedly falling victim to kidnappings, extortion, and violence, often just across the border from El Paso. Despite a dip in overall migrant traffic, the Chihuahua State Public Safety Director, Gilberto Loya, noted an unsettling trend, as per KTSM, "We have diminished migration flows in terms of caravans and people arriving on trains. But I must point out we are seeing more people who are being kidnapped and extorted".
These abductions, highlighted by Loya, tell a story of migrants being held in deplorable conditions, scarcely fed, and denied water in stash houses, mostly in Juarez, which shares a border with El Paso, Texas. The plight of the abducted mirrors a broader climate of fear that also grips local ride-share drivers, per Border Report. Ride-share drivers in Juarez are reporting an increase in robberies and violent incidents, with as many as seven of their colleagues having been murdered this year alone. The situation has led them to track one another via private WhatsApp groups as an early-warning system, showing an erosion of trust in local authorities.
One such driver lamented the daily risks they face, as per NewsNationNow, "We are completely exposed. You go to work with fear because you don’t know if you will be coming home. You must be careful because the situation is difficult". Migrants looking for rides potentially exacerbate this anxiety, as drivers grapple with the uncertainty of who they are picking up and the associated dangers.
