Mexican authorities rescue 31 migrants abducted near US border

Mexican authorities rescued 31 migrants abducted near the U.S. border, officials confirmed Wednesday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, a spokesperson for the Mexican president’s office announced the 31 migrants were rescued after they were abducted Dec. 30, 2023. The abduction took place in the state of Tamaulipas.

Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, the spokesperson, thanked the “coordinated effort” of the Tamaulipas government, the state attorney general’s office, the defense ministry, the national guard and the secretary of security and citizen protection for the rescue.

“They are already in the hands of the authorities and are undergoing the corresponding medical examination,” the spokesperson wrote on X, attaching several photos, including one of an ambulance and another of several migrants, including one holding a stuffed animal toy.  

Mexican Interior Minister Luisa María Alcalde also celebrated the rescue of the migrants in a Wednesday post on X, writing, “Governor Américo Villarreal has just informed us that the 31 migrants kidnapped in Tamaulipas were rescued safely.”

“Thanks to the State authorities, the national guard and the armed forces,” she added.

Federal Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said armed and masked men stopped a bus traveling on a highway that connects the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros, according to The Associated Press. She said the migrants were from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras and Mexico. Four Colombians were among the abducted, the country’s president said.

Officials tracked migrants’ cellphones, reviewed surveillance video footage from the bus and scanned the area by helicopter in searching for the abductees, the AP reported.