American kidnaps woman in Mexico

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The man released the woman in a luxurious hotel in CDMX.

On Tuesday, January 18, the rescue of  Lina Cruz was achieved, the Colombian who would have been kidnapped since September 2020 by the ex-convict American Jason Monroe Smith, convicted of the crimes of kidnapping and aggravated assault in which a victim is tied or restrained.

Monroe dropped Lina off at a luxurious Mexico City hotel and texted the address to Claudia Cruz, Lina’s older sister, so they could pick her up. He disappeared, but he would begin to be wanted in the Mexican country since they are going to denounce him for kidnapping, assault, and human trafficking.

“The authorities in Mexico are already investigating the case of this Mr. Monroe for possible human trafficking. He contacted my sister Claudia and told her where he was going to leave her because we already had him cornered,” explained Paula Cruz, Lina’s twin. and who has sought to report the case to international authorities for months.

The negotiation between the Cruz family and Monroe Smith took a few days until the man decided to deliver her under his conditions. While they were negotiating, Paula notified the Mexican Search and Rescue Commissioner, Lizzeth Hernández Navarro, and the Special Prosecutor for Crimes of Violence against Women and Human Trafficking (Fevimtra).

Both entities gave support to the Cruz and -this Tuesday- when Monroe gave the data of her location, they carried out an operation to rescue Lina and try to capture her captor.

The authorities arrived at the hotel and found Lina with her luggage, they took her to a safe place and they are giving her physical and psychological medical attention so that she can recover. Cruz has suffered for 5 years from a bipolar disorder for which she was taking medication. However, Monroe apparently prevented him from doing so, which caused further psychological damage.

Lina María Cruz Giraldo


American took advantage of Lina’s disorder

According to Paula’s complaint, Monroe took advantage of this psychological disorder to take Lina away and easily subdue her without her resisting. Even making her forget her relatives.

When they found her, they took photos of her and communicated it to us by video call, but she did not recognize us. I talked to her but she answered us as if she didn’t know how to speak Spanish. He didn’t know how to conjugate verbs and he told us: ‘You’re not my biological sister. You removed from my hypothalamus,'” says Paula, adding that it is no longer just the pain of seeing her dramatic physical change, but the mental consequences of almost a year and a half of kidnapping.

Now, Paula Cruz is preparing the necessary documentation for her sister Lina to be declared by judicial adjudication and to return to Colombia soon to receive the medical care she needs in the company of her family.

“This process is extremely painful. Seeing my sister with such short hair, with her different appearance and that way of expressing herself so strangely. It will be a long process for Lina to reintegrate and to be able to recognize her family so much. we love her. At this moment she, in the midst of her incoherence, does not want to know anything, “says the sister.

Finally, Paula thanks everyone who has been supporting in Mexico and Colombia to help rescue her sister. “We must not stop fighting for a loved one. If we had not done anything, perhaps Lina would still be in the hands of this man, who has now disappeared.”


The ordeal of a Colombian kidnapped in Mexico by an American ex-convict Lina María Cruz Giraldo is a Colombian who has been living in Mexico for eight years and already has her residence. It has been years of hard work and getting ahead despite adversity, because five years ago he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Lina had very frequent contact with her family in Armenia, Quindío, but that communication has been disrupted since November 28, 2020, when she became involved with Jason Monroe Smith, who was sentenced in Arizona (United States) for kidnapping and torture.

In January 2021, Lina lost communication with her family for at least a month. Then she wrote just once in February and another month went by with no sign of life. When she was able to communicate with her, she reported that Jason Monroe continued to beat her and that her situation was very delicate, before not communicating for another month.

“In April, he finally spoke to me and said: ‘Paula, if I don’t write again; If I don’t show up again, don’t look for me. Do not do anything. It’s very dangerous. Tell the ‘monkey’ to sleep with that stuffed swan that I gave her’. That was the last time I talked to my twin sister and it was through a text message”, says Paula, very sorry.

Months passed without the Cruzes in Colombia knowing anything about Lina. September arrived and concern overwhelmed this Quindian family, to the point that Claudia Cruz, another of Lina’s sisters, went to a ‘medium’ to help her understand what her sister was experiencing.

Source: eluniversal.com.mx, infobae.com

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