Rumors of a Kidnapping

There are reports that some 50 Central American immigrants were kidnapped in Oaxaca last week, though the Mexican government denies it. The governments of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are asking for an investigation. Hopefully the rumors are just that, but the lack of roots and consequent vulnerability of Central Americans passing through Mexico means that they will continue to be targets, and that there have probably been far more killings than the public is aware of. After all, the murder of 70-plus migrants in Tamaulipas this summer was only discovered because one of the victims survived a coup de grace and walked dozens of kilometers with a bullet wound in his neck and mouth. Absent that impressive and unlikely feat, we may never have known what happened.