Truck driver describes abduction and fear on Mexico’s highways
Original reporting: El Sol de Durango
What happened
A truck driver from Coahuila recounts an alleged abduction and says cargo operators face persistent risks on routes through Puebla and Arco Norte.
Reporting and context
Truck driver describes abduction and fear on Mexico’s highways
Sergio, a 35-year-old truck driver from Coahuila, says he has spent 12 years in cargo transport while worrying that a trip may keep him from returning to his family. According to El Sol de Durango, he identifies roadside criminals as “La Rata” and says his fear intensified during the last five or six years. He told the outlet that drivers also face theft, assaults and illegal checkpoints on several routes, particularly the Arco Norte and roads in Puebla.
El Sol de Durango reported that Sergio was hauling empty containers from San Luis Potosí toward Mérida when he found knife cuts, about 30 centimeters long, in the curtains of both trailers after stopping near Champotón, Campeche. He continued after covering the cuts, later picked up finished product bound for Zacatecas and stopped at a Puebla gas station late at night after a delay in receiving diesel.
At about 3 a.m., Sergio said, a collision was used to persuade him to open the truck door. He told the outlet that an armed man forced him into the sleeper compartment, tied his hands and kept him inside for nearly two hours. The men later took him onto a dirt road, where he heard them dismantling the dashboard, apparently to disconnect the GPS, and believed the tractor had been separated from the trailers.
Sergio said he was left bound in an isolated area until daylight. He eventually reached National Guard facilities, where he explained what happened and received money for a bus ticket home while his employer handled paperwork. He later returned to Puebla with a legal representative to file a complaint, but said the document already matched instructions his captors had given him about what to tell authorities.
After the incident, Sergio left the company. He continues working in cargo transport, but says each departure begins with the same requests: not to become a target of roadside criminals and to return home. El Sol de Durango presented the account as Sergio’s recollection and allegations.