American, 23, kidnapped among seven workers from two ‘cartel-linked’ call centers in Mexico
An American man is one of seven workers who disappeared in the space of seven days from two illegal call centers in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.
Arizona native Carlos Valladolid, 23, and his sister, Itzel Valladolid, 27, were reported missing by their mother, Elizabeth Hernández, after failing to return home from their jobs in the Zapopan community on May 22.
Their colleague, Jorge Moreno, 28, also did not return home the same day.
Multiple Mexican news outlets reported that Carlos Valladolid had recently moved to Jalisco and was living with his sister and mother.
El Universal newspaper reported Monday that the call centers could be linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The FBI revealed in March that by 2022, the criminal group had defrauded approximately 600 individuals for $39.6 million by fraudulently selling or renting their timeshares.
According to Jalisco Attorney General Luis Méndez, the seven employees had been with the call center for two or three months.
Carlos Valladolid is one of seven employees from two call centers in western Mexico who disappeared last week. The 23-year-old, a native of Arizona, and his sister, a Mexican citizen, were reported missing on May 22
Itzel Valladolid has not been seen since May 22. She and her brother, Arizona native Carlos Valladolid, left their home in Mexico’s western state of Jalisco to work at a call center allegedly part of an investigation led by the US Treasury Department. The Jalisco attorney general’s office said the center allegedly targeted retired Americans and fraudulently sold them time stocks
Mexican authorities searched one of two clandestine call centers targeting retirees in the United States and fraudulently selling them time shares
Méndez’s office revealed that the call centers may have been one of 19 Mexico-based companies under investigation by the US Treasury Department.
In April, senior Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Eduardo Pardo and six other cartel members were sanctioned by the Treasury Department for their role in the scheme.
Agents searched the two call centers – which are about a mile apart – where they found hard drives; USB sticks; computers, documents relating to the sale of timeshares; blackboards displaying foreign customer names, sales targets, and membership information.
Authorities also discovered a cloth with a red stain that is being examined
The other missing workers were identified as Mayra Velázquez, 29, who has not been seen since she reported to the call center on May 26.
Arturo Robles, 30, was reported missing by their families on May 24.
Jesús Salazar, 37, traveled to the call center for an interview the same day and never returned home.
Officers from the Public Prosecution Service found Robles’ car parked outside the center. It has since been passed on to his family.
Carlos García, 31, was last seen leaving home for work on May 20.
Mayra Velázquez, who is also missing, was investigated for fraud in 2016
Arturo Robles is one of two call center employees who disappeared on May 22 in Zapopan, Mexico
Authorities said Valladolid’s siblings, Robles, García and Moreno, all worked at a call center in the Zapopan neighborhood of Jardines Vallarta. Salazar’s interview was scheduled at the same location.
“We need them back now, we are very hurt,” Hernández said of her missing son and daughter. “We really need the support of all people who know something and that the information is true.”
Velázquez worked at a call center in the nearby neighborhood of La Estancia.
Robles’ sister, Beatriz Robles, told El País newspaper that the Mexican government is not doing enough to find her brother and his colleagues.
Carlos García was the first of seven workers reported missing when he failed to return home on May 20
Jesús Salazar is one of seven call center employees who disappeared in six days in the western Mexico city of Zapopan.
Call center worker Jorge Moreno has not been seen since May 22, the same day two other colleagues, including an American, failed to return home from the location
She claims she received responses like “we’re too busy” or “we’re overwhelmed” or “you have to wait” every time they visited the prosecutor’s office for information about their loved ones.
And she gets it because the state of Jalisco accounts for 14,978 of the 110,742 people reported missing in Mexico since 1962.
And the truth is, it’s hard not to understand, because you get there and the walls of the Attorney General’s office are filled with missing persons. You hear about these things on the news,’ Beatriz Robles said. “We live in an unsafe country, you know these things happen, but you never imagine it could happen to you.
And this is like fighting a monster that keeps getting bigger and bigger and you can’t stop it. The government does nothing. It’s hard, but we keep hoping to find him dead or alive.’