McAllen man kidnapped, held in Mexico returned to U.S. soil

McALLEN — U.S. federal authorities continue to question a man who was kidnapped from a local coffee shop and held for ransom in Mexico for nearly a week.

Raul Alvarado’s abductors allegedly demanded a ransom of $30,000 and two luxury vehicles. But it remains unclear whether any payments were made before Mexican police discovered him bound and beaten in a Reynosa stash house Friday.

Alvarado, 36, of McAllen, told Mexican officials that he had intended to meet a business contact from Reynosa at the Starbucks Coffee near the intersection of Expressway 83 and South 10th Street on Nov. 23, when he was forced into a vehicle at gunpoint.

His captors initially demanded $100,000 for his release but later lowered their requirement once he said his family wouldn’t be able to meet that sum.

Reynosa police found him four days later at a home on the city’s northeast side and transported him to a local hospital before handing him off to U.S. authorities Friday afternoon, federal investigators said.

None of the alleged kidnappers were arrested during the raid.

While kidnappings for ransom have long been a threat in western border communities, similar incidents have until recently remained relatively isolated in the Rio Grande Valley, said local FBI spokesman Jorge Cisneros.

But in the past year, local law enforcement agencies have investigated more abduction cases involving victims being taken across the border. Most of these cases, however, have involved victims with ties to illegal activity, he said.

“Increased law enforcement presence in the United States and Mexico has pushed people to more forcefully pursue their drug debts,” he said. “But I don’t want (innocent) people to think they have to be fearful walking the streets of the Valley.”

Investigators have released no evidence to suggest a drug-related motive behind Alvarado’s abduction. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

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