Hector, an 18-year-old immigrant, burst into tears.
A teenager from Mexico was rescued by a Texas sheriff after being abandoned by smugglers who paid him to help him cross the border.
according to news nationHector, 18, got separated from his companions and used his game camera to show his Mexican passport to signal for help. Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland found Hector on the side of the road crying and begging for help.
Hector reportedly told authorities he was traveling to Indianapolis with 10 people. He said he paid the smugglers $3,000 to cross the border after the drug cartel forced him to work for them. He claimed he owed $3,000 when he arrived at his destination.
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“I wanted to go home to my mother. They left me in those mountains and I had to cross over there and I went to the ranch to get help,” Hector said.
“They left, they abandoned me and I couldn’t walk anymore.”
“They threatened me in Tehuacán if I didn’t work for the drug lords because I owed them. So, I focused on getting out of Tehuacán as quickly as possible,” he said.
After being rescued, Hector was hospitalized with muscle degeneration, possibly caused by overuse, which could have caused him to fall behind the team.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, an estimated 3 million people enter the United States illegally each year. Between South and North America, most migrants are smuggled across the border by truck, but there are also cases by foot, rail or even dedicated tunnels.
