Mexican Cops Arrest Couple Allegedly Tied to Migrant Kidnapping and Shootout near Houston

Authorities in the Mexican coastal state of Michoacan arrested a man and a woman who are wanted in Texas in connection to the kidnapping of three migrants.

This week, Mexican authorities with the Michoacan Attorney General’s Office (FGE) tracked down Santiago Hernandez Jr. and Lorie Lin Flowers to the city of Huetamo, Michoacan, where they arrested them on a provisional arrest warrant for extradition purposes. The FBI wants the two individuals on kidnapping charges out of Brookshire, Texas.  The two are the last fugitives on the run from a group of more than a dozen suspects tied to violent kidnapping and various subsequent shootouts in Texas.

According to the FBI, on March 18, 2023, Hernandez, Flowers, and several others took part in a violent ransom kidnapping conspiracy. A group of more than 11 kidnappers used firearms to intercept a vehicle with six migrants that was heading north from the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas. The gunmen fired several shots at the vehicle in an attempt to get them to stop. Some of the migrants were injured in the attack. The gunmen allegedly kidnapped three migrants, leaving everyone else behind. The attackers reportedly took their victims to a Houston-area hotel where they tortured them while recording the attacks on video in an attempt to pressure loved ones to send money.

Authorities had previously arrested eight other gunmen in August 2023. Another gunman had died during the initial rescue of the migrants by authorities. The FBI did not charge two other suspects because they were underage. State authorities went ahead and charged them at the time.