Miami barber recounts surviving deadly abduction in Mexico

MIAMI – After two of four Americans were found dead after being kidnapped by gunmen on Friday while driving into northeastern Mexico, a Miami man spoke with Local 10 News Wednesday to recount his horrific kidnapping experience that happened nearly five years ago.

Oscar Wall, 38, of Miami, spoke with Local 10 News and said that he’s lucky to be alive after a 2018 abduction attempt by a drug cartel.

“It’s sad to see how the government is so corrupted that they let all of this happen and they don’t do anything about it,” said Wall.

Wall, who previously lived in Cancun, said that the recent kidnapping was an experience he is all too familiar with.

“I remember I was bleeding, like, blood from this hole was pouring and I smelled like piss, poop, throw-up, bleach and blood,” he said.

Wall says his barbershop franchise grew to more than 30 shops in 13 Mexican states, which made him become a target for the cartel.

“(They’re) trying to get me and always calling me and until one day, they’re like, ‘you need to start having people selling dope in your shop and you’re going to start paying more,’ and I told them no,” he said.

Wall told Local 10 News he was leaving a nightclub in October 2018 when he and his driver were attacked.

“The car just got surrounded by eight guys with their face covered and AK-47′s,” he said. “They took us, and they were beating me inside the car--they covered my face.”

Wall recounted how his driver was shot in the head and how his kidnappers held him for five days.

He said he still bears scars from the tragic incident.

“They were whipping, beating, hammering and torturing me,” Wall said.

As the news of Wall’s kidnapping spread throughout the Mexican media, he said that cartel members issued more threats.

“When it came out, they’re like: ‘Yo, we gotta take him out--you’re done, tomorrow, you’re dead,’” Wall said. “That night, I cried out to God--God please, help me get out.”

Wall said he was able to free himself and escape as his captors slept.

“My friend, the policeman that helped me out,” he said. “He told me ‘one to a thousand don’t escape from the cartel.’”

Wall told Local 10 News that bodies were left in garbage bags outside of his barbershops, which he says was likely were his captors’ punishment for letting him escape.

“From being a business owner, living in front of the beach in Cancun, to being homeless and I went to live in a shelter for a whole year,” he said.

Wall has been barbering in Miami since 2020 and is taking none of it for granted.

“This barbershop has been a family to me,” he said. “This city, these people that I cut, they’re a blessing, and it’s a blessing to be here (to) make money and do what I love to do.”


About the Author:

Layron Livingston made the move from Ohio's Miami Valley to Miami, Florida, to join the Local 10 News team.