Feds: Men held hundreds of immigrants hostage

McALLEN — Three men already in federal custody have been linked to the kidnapping, torture and ransom of hundreds of Central American migrants in Reynosa, federal authorities said.

Two Honduran nationals held on immigration charges in Willacy County recognized one of the suspected smugglers July 10 after he was booked into the county jail, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in their case.

One of the detained immigrants told U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents that he had met Oscar Humberto Hilton Romero, 31, of Honduras, in Guatemala and then followed him to a Reynosa stash house, where he was held against his will.

Once the immigrant’s brother paid a $3,500 ransom, Hilton helped him and 38 others to cross illegally into the United States, but U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended the group July 1 outside Peñitas, the affidavit states.

Hilton himself had once been a migrant seeking illegal entry to the United States, according to information agents received from another immigrant being held at a federal immigration detention center outside Austin. Hilton ended up joining the smuggling operation after his family ran out of money to support his journey north.

The man worked as a guard for six months at the organization’s Reynosa stash house while working off his debt, he said, according to the affidavit.

Investigators have linked Hilton and two alleged accomplices — 21-year-old Juan Duran Bueno and 36-year-old Jose Isabel Duran Lopez, both of Mexico — to at least two other smuggling attempts involving a total of 17 migrants in the first two weeks of this month.

As of late Wednesday, all three men remained in federal custody pending a detention hearing set for Friday. If convicted on human smuggling charges, they could each face up to six months in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

It was not immediately clear whether any had retained an attorney.

Because the hostage-taking allegations stem from purported activity in Mexico, they will not face charges related to that crime here.

____

Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.