Drug smugglers believed to have ties to the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas are now linked to the kidnapping of a teen male in Laredo, Texas. Authorities arrested one suspect and are seeking other members of the group.
The kidnapping took place last week in Laredo when a Texas woman received a phone call from a Mexican mobile number. A male speaker said her son was kidnapped. According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, the teen was picked up at his home by a friend and did not return. The unknown caller said the woman’s son had stolen drugs from them and she needed to pay $30,000 for his release or he would be killed.
The kidnappers sent the woman a video of her son showing cuts and bruises, indicating some level of torture. The woman contacted the FBI, who began assisting in a ransom negotiation. The teen later managed to escape a cartel stash house through an open window. The teen led the FBI and Laredo Police to an apartment on Seymour Avenue where one of the captors remained.
Authorities arrested Hector Jose Lopez and leveled federal kidnapping charges. The man remains in custody pending further hearings in Laredo.
While court documents do not identify the criminal organization, though Laredo is the main drug and human smuggling gateway used by the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. In Mexico, CDN-Los Zetas are linked to numerous kidnappings, murders, and large scale gun battles.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.