▲ Most of them are minors, and although they were not kidnapped or mistreated, they were hooked on the proposal of collecting asparagus.Photo Secretary of the Navy
Agencies
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, October 31, 2025, p. 11
The Sinaloa Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Secretary of the Navy rescued 28 children and young people on the high seas who were on a boat from the south of the country and who had been recruited to work as day laborers.
However, in a statement, the Secretary of the Navy conveyed that it provided support to the 28 people who arrived by their own means to the port area of terminal two in La Paz, Baja California.
“In a rescue operation carried out by the Secretary of the Navy, 28 people were helped – 27 between 14 and 17 years old and one 18 years old – who were on a boat on the high seas,” indicates a statement released by Sinaloa authorities.
The Navy added that the action was carried out after naval unit personnel detected an atypical situation upon the group’s arrival, which motivated their intervention. With the support of the authorities, the young people were transferred to the port of Topolobampo aboard the ship Saint Marcela IIbelonging to the company Transportes Marítimos de California, which provided the transfer for free.
“Preliminarily, it is known that the young people come from Chiapas,” it is detailed.
The rescued people were under the protection of the regional deputy prosecutor’s office for the northern zone of Sinaloa, with the support of the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents, “in order to provide them with comprehensive care and protection, while their legal situation is determined.”
So far, the investigations carried out by the Sinaloa Prosecutor’s Office have not determined when they were recruited or why they decided to ask Semar for help.
The director of the Ahome DIF System, Nancy Janeth Niebla Valdez, and the president of the organization, Marissa Menéndez de Llano, reported that the young people from Chiapas stated that they had not been kidnapped or mistreated.
Already in Topolobampo, the 28 young people received medical attention, and all of them were in good health. They were also provided with food and hydration, and were placed in the custody of the authorities.
The prosecutor’s office indicates that no arrests were reported.
However, he clarifies that Sinaloa prosecutors “keep the work in progress.” The open investigation seeks to establish the circumstances of the transfer from the south of the country and determine if it is a case of human trafficking.
