Video shows an illegal migrant crying while being rescued by authorities after a cartel allegedly abandoned him in the Texas desert, NewsNation reported Wednesday.
A rescue operation led by Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland discovered the 18-year-old Mexican teen, Hector, alone and in tears while calling for his mother in a stretch of the Texas desert, according to NewsNation. Smugglers allegedly abandoned Hector when he couldn’t keep up with his group, the outlet reported.
Hector eventually found an abandoned RV for shelter and made a flag to get help, catching authorities’ attention by showing his Mexican passport to a game camera, NewsNation reported.
“I want to go home to my mother,” Hector told the sheriff in Spanish, NewsNation reported. “They left me in those hills, and I went to the ranch looking for help.” (RELATED: Video Appears To Show Police Arresting Alleged Cartel Leader Whose Group Allegedly Killed Two Americans)
Hector allegedly fled Mexico because a cartel threatened him. “They threatened me in Tehuacan if I didn’t work for the narcos, because I was indebted to them,” he reportedly said. “So I focused on getting out of Tehuacan as soon as I could.”
The teen claimed he was hoping to join his father in Indianapolis, and claimed he wanted to rescue his family from the cartel. He paid about $3,000 to cross the border, according to NewsNation, and needed to pay another $3,000 once he arrived in Indianapolis.