The term coyote is slang for “a person who smuggles immigrants, especially Latin Americans, into the U.S. for a fee.”¹ A coyote kidnapping for ransom (KFR) occurs when a coyote and/or others in the smuggling process kidnap the immigrant and charge the family an additional fee for the individual’s release after already receiving the full or partial agreed-upon amount for the service. In some cases, it may be difficult for law enforcement to determine if the incident was a dispute over the smuggling fee or an actual kidnapping.

Analysis

The FBI analyzed 53 of its coyote KFR cases from 2020 to 2021, uncovering notable trends about the locations, perpetrators, ransom amounts, and resolutions. 

Locations

All the kidnappings occurred in Mexico; specifically, in Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán, and Zacatecas. Most took place along the California and Texas borders in Baja California and Tamaulipas.

Victims kidnapped in Baja California were all Mexican citizens, while most abducted along the Texas border were from another Latin American country, such as El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala. 

Perpetrators

Criminal organizations involved in coyote KFRs purport themselves to be associated with major cartels, regional criminal enterprises, and local criminal gangs.² Coyotes often pay a fee to cross immigrants through certain territories and risk criminal groups kidnapping them before they reach their destination. In some cases, the coyotes themselves are the hostage takers and never carry out what they were hired to do.

Ransom Amounts

Demands vary but do not appear to be based on a specific region. The highest initial ransom was $50,000. Hostage takers typically request a high initial amount and then lower it based on the victim family’s response. Nonetheless, the demand may increase if the family can gather additional funds from, for instance, other relatives, friends, coworkers, employers, or banks. Ransoms paid after negotiations ranged between $1,000 and $35,000 — the average was $7,644.

Hostage takers typically seize the victim’s telephone and use it to contact the family when demanding the ransom. Like in other KFRs, extorted family members receive photographs and/or videos of whom they believe is their loved one nude or partially nude; handcuffed; bonded with rope, plastic wrap, or belts; beaten with ropes, bats, or poles; and with guns to their head. Hostage takers may threaten to harm the victim (e.g., rape, kill, dismember) or use them to smuggle drugs into the United States.

In some cases, victims are unaware of the kidnapping because they assume they have been smuggled into the United States and are being held in a secluded area near a border crossing.

Resolutions

On average, victims were kept hostage for 12 days. Fortunately, 52 of these cases were successfully resolved — either through ransom payments (40), victim rescue by law enforcement (10), or victim escape (2). One outcome was unknown because the family did not disclose it.

It is important to note that the 53 reported cases involved at least 169 victims. Few families victimized by coyote KFRs report it. Those who do hesitate to disclose all the facts because they lack trust in law enforcement and/or fear deportation if they are in the United States undocumented. Yet, the families who did involve law enforcement expressed appreciation for the assistance.

Case Example

In a U.S. town that borders Mexico, a family hired a coyote to bring a loved one to the United States. The morning after the family member was promised to arrive, the hostage taker contacted the family, demanding $10,000 in exchange for the immigrant’s release. Fearful, the family filed a report with the local police and the FBI that same day.

The FBI investigated the matter and helped the family negotiate the victim’s release. Unfortunately, the family had already paid some of the funds requested, but the law enforcement assistance limited their financial loss.

Using United States- and Mexico-based phone numbers, the hostage takers instructed the family via text to wire $2,000 each to five individuals in southern Mexico. Hostage takers allowed the victim to talk to his family often, telling him to lie and say he was being held in a border town in the United States when, in fact, he had never left Mexico.

As the days progressed, the hostage takers began threatening to hurt and kill the victim. They sent his family pictures of him covered in blood, tied to a chair, and blindfolded. The immigrant later explained the “blood” was red paint. While the victim was on the phone, the hostage takers put a gun to his head to force him to say whatever they instructed.

The family followed the FBI’s guidance regardless of the pressure to pay additional ransom amounts. Two days later, the hostage takers realized they would not get any more money and released the victim.

In this case, the family filed a complaint in Mexico with the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU),³ but the AKU could not locate the victim before he was released. During negotiations with the hostage takers, the FBI learned of three other immigrants with family members in other areas of the United States who were kidnapped by the same group. Although the hostage takers used various telephone numbers, they employed the same modus operandi. The other victims’ families also filed complaints with the Mexican authorities, and the AKU continued its investigation. Cooperating with the FBI, the AKU ultimately rescued two victims (the result of the third case is unknown), arrested 10 hostage takers, and seized 20 phones.

Recommendations

The review of FBI coyote KFR cases highlights the importance of educating the public and reporting such crimes.

Educate

Coyote KFRs, as with any other criminal matter, are time sensitive, so educating the public on the urgency of reporting a suspected coyote KFR is vital. The sooner law enforcement assistance is obtained, the better suited the family will be to negotiate the release of their loved one and limit their financial loss. Regardless of the immigration status of the family being extorted, they are victims of a crime and must be treated as such.

Law enforcement may take an active role in this education through outreach to social services agencies assigned to immigrant communities, particularly those from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Another major connection to the public is through religious organizations.

Officers can give a brief presentation to these groups to explain KFRs and law enforcement’s acknowledgment of the prevalence of such cases. Stressing that the agency is a free resource for families and providing contact information is also important if a family becomes a victim of this crime.

Report

The extorted family should notify local and federal authorities immediately. Typically, the local U.S. law enforcement agency will be notified first. In such cases, the department should instruct and/or assist the family with reporting the matter to the FBI. Further, the family should file a complaint, known as a denuncia, with the Mexican authorities.

Due to fear and lack of trust, most families have expressed concern working with Mexican authorities and are hesitant to report it. To this end, the FBI should emphasize to the families that it has a good working relationship with the AKU to resolve coyote KFRs. The AKU is designated to investigate and recover kidnapped victims in Mexico and has special tools, techniques, and training on how to locate and rescue victims.

A denuncia can be filed in person in Mexico or in the United States at a Mexican consulate, regardless of immigration status. In some cases, it can now be filed over the phone. This is a very important step as it authorizes Mexican authorities to begin investigating the matter.

Conclusion

Most families victimized by coyote kidnapping for ransoms are undocumented and afraid to seek police assistance. They feel helpless with no option other than to gamble their own fate. However, they are victims of a crime and will not be subject to additional, unrelated questioning. The FBI serves as another resource to the families, not only with negotiation support and guidance in the United States but also with the FBI legal attaché stationed in Mexico, who works closely with the AKU in each Mexican region. In conjunction with the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations also provide assistance during coyote KFRs.

The case example illustrates the importance of reporting such crimes. More criminal organizations would be dismantled if undocumented families were not afraid to seek justice. Police departments notified of these kidnappings should contact their local FBI office for immediate assistance.