Mexican authorities rescue 34 migrants kidnapped in northern Mexico

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Mexican authorities announced on Thursday that the 34 migrants who were kidnapped in the northern part of the country earlier this week have been rescued.

On Wednesday night, troops from the Mexican army, the National Guard, and local police successfully located a farm where 10 men, 14 women, and 10 children were held captive.

The San Luis Potosi District Attorney's Office made a discovery on Tuesday when they found an abandoned bus on the border between San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Leon. The initial reports indicated that the passengers, initially believed to be 50 migrants and two bus drivers, were allegedly kidnapped by criminal gangs.

By Wednesday afternoon, authorities had successfully located 15 migrants who managed to escape from their captors. This crucial development allowed them to gather valuable information that helped narrow down their search and locate the remaining captive migrants.

During Thursday's morning presidential briefing, General Luis Cresencio Sandoval, the head of the Secretary of National Defense, announced that the two bus drivers who were reportedly abducted along with the migrants are still missing.

Sandoval said National Guard and military troops will maintain their patrols in the region, with a particular focus on the city of Matehuala, where the mass abduction was first reported and previous cases of kidnapping against migrants have occurred.

"You will remember that in previous days something similar happened. We had a number and the number we found after the operation was even higher. More migrants were detected in the area, which is why we are not going to leave the area. We will continue searching, and the drivers are our priority," said Sandoval.

On May 7, authorities in Sonora, northwestern Mexico, found 113 kidnapped migrants while initially searching for 10 kidnapped migrants from Ecuador.