Mexican Pair Convicted of Kidnapping and Traveling to US to Collect Ransom

The brother-sister duo from Rosarito abducted their neighbor and demanded $70,000 from his relatives in Los Angeles County.

A man crosses into the United States from Mexico in San Ysidro, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A federal jury in Los Angeles found a brother and sister from Mexico guilty of kidnapping a neighbor at gunpoint in 2022, then driving across the border to the U.S. to collect a ransom payment from his family.

Mario Alex Medina, 54, and María Alejandra Medina, 51, both of Rosarito, were each found guilty of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and conspiracy to demand a ransom payment, according to an Oct. 25 announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.