Mexican cartel hunts coyotes; encounters shepherd

Mexican drug cartel enforcers went hunting “coyotes” in the desert but found a shepherd instead.

Lorenzo Ortiz, director of El Buen Samaritano Migrante Ministry, cares for refugee asylum seekers in the states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Fellowship Southwest supports Ortiz and El Buen Samaritano, providing monthly funds for food and other necessary items, as well as operational funds for the shelters and the ministry.

Ortiz operates two shelters in Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas, and a third shelter in Saltillo, about 180 miles inland. The Mexican-U.S. asylum process often requires immigrants to report variously in both Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey, between Saltillo and Nuevo Laredo, requiring intermittent travel.

The Saltillo/Monterrey/Nuevo Laredo corridor is one of the most dangerous regions in North America, where cartels operate with impunity. So, Ortiz prefers to transport refugees in the ministry’s aging van, rather than allow them to ride on buses, which the cartels often raid. 

Last weekend, Ortiz and his wife, Oralia, and their daughter, Ruth, planned to accompany a group of immigrants on the journey. Logistics went awry. 

The Ortizes drove from their home in Laredo to Saltillo, planning to carry them to Nuevo Laredo in the van. Then, logistics went awry. Three families arrived late, and the Ortizes got separated, attempting to provide accompaniment for both groups of refugees. 

Ruth takes up the story:

“As we (Oralia and Ruth) arrived and waited in the Nuevo Laredo bus station at 11 p.m., three cartel guys approached us. They began asking questions: If we traveled together? From where were we? And if we were there for asylum reasons? They made it clear these questions needed to be asked, since it was an order from the boss. 

“Things seemed to get complicated as they kept asking questions. I told one of them I was the daughter of Pastor Lorenzo Ortiz and also came with my mother. They said, ‘Oh, you are the daughter of Pastor Lorenzo?’ The guy moved us aside from the rest of the families and began explaining to us why they were asking so many questions. 

“At that moment, my father walked in, and one of the cartel guys said, ‘Oh, Pastor Lorenzo, we did not know they came with you.’ 

“My father had been interrogated by them when he started transporting families. They wanted to find out why he was helping these families. What they were looking for was if he was a coyote—a person who smuggles immigrants into the U.S. This is the major job of this cartel with migrant families. They realized he was a pastor who provided families with a place to stay and food. 

“We constantly see how the Lord protects those who serve him. I personally want to thank you … and CBF for having us in your prayers. I am amazed to see how the Lord protects us. Thank you so much!”

Please keep the Ortizes and the other pastors who comprise Fellowship Southwest’s Immigrant Relief Ministry in your prayers. Pray also for the immigrant asylum seekers they feed and shelter. Every day, they face danger from cartels, coyotes and COVID-19, as well as disappointment from the U.S. immigration system, increasingly shaped to prevent refugees from starting new lives in the United States.