Human smuggling

Would-be immigrants who contract with smugglers to transport them across borders are vulnerable to abuse. Once immigrants are smuggled into a country, they can be easy prey for traffickers who try to extort money.

Recently Mexican soldiers rescued undocumented Cuban migrants who had been kidnapped and tortured in Cancun. The Cubans told McClatchy News Service that their captors were upset with the migrants who refused or were unable to pay certain fees for the smuggling operation.

Several undocumented Cubans were tortured, beaten and threatened by human smugglers during the first two weeks of September. The beatings were severe, the torture sinister so as to send a message to the migrants' relatives in the United States and Europe.

According to the victims and relatives, the smugglers were Cubans from Miami and others were Mexicans.

Threatened with severe torture, the Cubans managed to write SOS messages and toss them into the streets and yards neighboring the house.

Two weeks after they arrived in Cancun, they were rescued by the Mexican military. They were lucky.

This is just one of many instances in which smugglers kidnap and abuse migrants to extort exorbitant sums. Authorities in Mexico and the United States have their hands full dealing with such crimes.