Roger García, a 38-year-old Venezuelan, had to migrate for the second time. This time he did it from Peru and his sights were set on the United States.

The last conversation with his father was on August 15, 2022. It has now been 7 months and Roger has not communicated. His family is desperate.

A photo of the son holding a sign reading “They are going to kill me” was received by his relatives. However, the parent’s “smell” detected it was a setup. At home they continue to hold on to the faith.

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Did he travel with a coyote?

Before traveling, Roger avoided answering the father, Edgar García, a retired military man from Maracay, a town in central Venezuela, if he had contacted a coyote (coyote).

Instead, he gave two other important pieces of information. He wouldn’t bring a cell phone to prevent theft. And he wouldn’t cross the dangerous Darien Jungle.

The retired Air Force colonel, interviewed by BBC Mundo, recalls Edgar traveling with two other Venezuelans.

long silence of a son

The route the migrant had followed and which he described to his father did not include entering the Darién jungle.

The soldier said his son had told him that he would leave by boat from San Andrés Island, Colombia, and arrive in Nicaragua.

After being left without a phone, Edgar estimated he would go 4 weeks without being able to talk to his family.

On September 9, his father sent him an email: “Hello, we have not heard from you for 20 days, please write to know that everything is fine. DTB (God bless you) and the Virgin protect you”.

He said he wrote it again after another 4 days. There was no response, and two weeks later they issued an initial message asking for help in finding it.

Image courtesy of BBC World

Capsizing for seven months

Moved by natural fear, Edgar García asked the Red Cross for help, “where they distributed a message to the stations serving migrants in Central America.”

He points out that he has sent emails to the UNHCR offices in Lima, Panama City and Mexico City. He then contacted the Peace Brigades International, the Águilas del Desierto and the Chaplains of the Desert, migrant search and rescue groups operating on the US-Mexico border.

Encouraged by a response on Facebook, Edgar contacted a committee in Oaxaca, Mexico, which released a bulletin about Roger in November 2022, which was also published by the state of Coahuila, which borders the United States, the British outlet says. .

The photo: “They are going to kill me”

The retired military says he was surprised one afternoon by a WhatsApp message: “a person claimed to have Roger.”

At home, Edgar asked for a video call. Seeing his son was what he and his wife wanted most.

The stranger’s “friendliness” changed after five days, and the father of the family received a threat that stunned everyone.

He told me that if I didn’t respond with money I would suffer the consequences because they would sacrifice him.

When he told him that he had not received his son’s video, the stranger sent a picture of his son. It was Edgar. Standing with a sign in their hands that said, “They’re going to kill me.”

Image courtesy of BBC World

“It’s a Setup”

Trying to calm and support her son’s mother, she detailed the photo.

He noticed his youngest son and together with a cousin concluded that it was a set-up

That was made known to Edgar who sent in the photo and asked for a video clip. “I want a video call or security questions,” he said. The man “got violent” and Edgar blocked him.

After that episode, Edgar was tormented by 14 more “con artists”.

In Maracay, these parents do not lose hope. They want to hear his voice, they dream of responding to him as parents: “God bless you, son.”