DALLAS — The kidnapping of four Black Americans — and the killing of two of them — in the northern Mexico border city of Matamoros has sparked fear among Black migrants and raised concerns among aid workers who say Black asylum-seekers have long been targeted by drug cartels.
For years, Felicia Rangel-Samponaro has provided food, books and shelter for asylum-seekers in Matamoros and Reynosa. The racism in Mexico against Black immigrants and Black U.S. citizens, including herself, has been pervasive, she said.
She and other aid workers say Black migrants have been targeted by drug cartels with rape, extortion, kidnapping and violence. So much so that, as news spread of the kidnapping of Americans, many Haitian migrants cleared out of a Matamoros camp last weekend and left for Reynosa.
