TUXTLA GUTIRREZ, Mexico, Aug 12, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - An activist known for leading massive migrant marches across Mexico to the US border was released from prison on Monday after a judge ruled there was no evidence to hold him.

Luis Garcia Villagran was arrested and detained in Tapachula last Tuesday, near Guatemala, where he had planned to lead a march headed for Mexico City the following day.

A judge "determined there were not enough elements to take our client to trial," his lawyer Jose Antonio Martinez Sanchez told reporters.

During the activist's nearly week-long detention, his lawyer had presented official documents acknowledging his work as a defender of migrant rights.

The NGO Pueblos Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders) said the purpose of the march was to demand swift processing of paperwork for foreigners stranded in southern Mexico.

The NGO said Garcia Villagran was detained by federal agents after meeting with migrants who planned to participate in the march.

Although they were fearful of being detained, about 300 people set out in a caravan without him.

Following his release, Irineo Mujica of Pueblos Sin Fronteras accused authorities of attempting to "criminalize the humanitarian work" of Garcia Villagran.

Garcia Villagran and Mujica have both been linked to organizing migrant caravans, some with thousands of members attempting to reach the border to cross into the United States.

In November 2021, during one such march, then-US ambassador Ken Salazar accused the activists of profiting from the marches.

In recent decades, countless migrants have traveled across Mexico from its southern border, seeking to cross into the United States, along a route where they face abuse by authorities and criminals alike.