They Have Found The Man Who Has Been Orchestrating The Endless Migrant Caravans

The Daily Caller News Foundation spoke with Luis Rey Garcia Villagran, leader of several recent migrant caravans, about how and why he works with the groups.

Back in 1997, Mexican judicial police arrested Villagran for alleged kidnapping and conspiracy, crimes that he claims were falsified.

According to Villagran, his believes it is his mission from God to help over 40,000 migrants cross into the US through caravans that he has been leading since September 2021. He’s completed the work through his organization, the Center for Human Dignity.

Here’s what Villagran said, who mentioned that he does not receive any financing for the caravans.

“We are Evangelical Christians. We try to help people least protected, especially women and child migrants. Simply, we apply what is in the law.” 

According to the Washington Examiner, Villagran’s latest group gathered attention when numerous migrants had reached Southern Mexico.  In fact, some members of the caravan were granted work visas by the Mexican government, while others trekked northward with many expected to arrive in Texas, the outlet mentioned.

Documented reports have noted that migrant groups recently have been making their way to places like Eagle Pass, Texas.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that the caravans were dividing into smaller factions, heading to his state’s border with Mexico.

With that being said, however, Villagran says he’s not responsible for the migrants’ choices to either stay in Mexico or move north to the U.S.

“That is no longer my decision. That is already a decision of each person. We have helped thousands of people to leave Tapachula with a document in which they can travel throughout the Mexican territory,” he said.

Villagran explained that his past experiences with Mexican authorities have helped him make the decision to advocate for migrants and help them make their journeys.

According to the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, in 1998, the judge found Villagran guilty for alleged kidnapping and conspiracy, sentencing him to 40 years in prison.

Here’s what Villagran’s said:

“They falsified evidence, falsified signatures of public ministries. I verified it with expert reports on documents. In addition, Amnesty International, Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), the World Organization Against Torture and the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center demanded my release from the Mexican State, and despite this, I was stigmatized as dangerous and they took me to maximum security prisons until the IAHCR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights demanded my freedom.” 

More details of exclusive interview from The Daily Caller News Foundation:

Villagran appealed the ruling, and, in 2002, his sentence was reduced to 38 years for the kidnapping charge and he was acquitted of conspiracy. In 2003, Villagran’s wife Martha Martínez de la Fuente sent a petition to the IAHCR, alleging that Villagran was innocent and had been arrested without a warrant, as well as endured torture forcing him to admit to kidnapping.

“The petitioner alleges that her husband, Luís Rey García Villagrán, has been unjustly imprisoned for ten years for a crime of which he was falsely accused,” the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said of the appeal.

De la Fuente also alleged that Villagran didn’t receive proper medical care for his detached retina, which was damaged when he was allegedly tortured and held in solitary confinement far away from his family.

Villagran was released in 2010 after the Chiapas state government said he “was tortured and illegally deprived of his liberty by the then State Judicial Police, and was subjected to improper legal proceedings,” according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

“The damage was repaired and that is where the Center for Human Dignity was born,” he added.

The Mexican State paid reparations to Villagran, which he used to fund his organization, he told Mexico News Daily in 2021.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Sources: DailyCaller, WashingtonExaminer

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