Sunland Park brothers were reindicted after two groups of migrants escaped from a stash house in 2023, where they were allegedly being held hostage and threatened by the men, authorities said.
Saul Duron Castorena, 41, and his brother Steven Castorena, 40, were reindicted Thursday, Jan. 25, by a federal grand jury on a superseding indictment charging them with several counts of taking hostages and running a stash house, federal court records show.
The brothers are accused of detaining and threatening to kill or injure two migrants between Jan. 15-18, 2023, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico officials said. They allegedly threatened the migrants and their families to pay a ransom for their release.
The superseding indictment now charges the men with conspiracy to take a hostage, two counts of hostage taking, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, and two counts of harboring an illegal alien. Saul Castorena also faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.