The Mexican authorities reported this Thursday, May 18, on the rescue of a group of 49 undocumented migrants who were kidnapped after entering the country, among whom was a person of Cuban origin.
During a press conference given by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mexican authorities indicated that the migrants were rescued in Matehuala, in the state of San Luis Potosí, where they were transferred after they were kidnapped on a bus that they boarded in Chiapas.
The information offered during the conference indicates that the 49 rescued migrants came from Cuba, Venezuela, Honduras, Brazil and other countries, and that the group consisted of 23 men, 15 women, six boys, five girls.
“The migrants who were missing in Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, have already been recovered, rescued,” said the president of Mexico.
#EnLaMananera | report #Sedena rescue of migrants illegally deprived of their liberty pic.twitter.com/BlNrtLwbR2
– Aztec Information Force (@AztecaNoticias) May 18, 2023
Since the kidnapping of the migrants was reported at the beginning of the week, some of them had been found in different parts of the country, concluding the search with 33 undocumented immigrants who were rescued during the early hours of this Thursday.
The group, made up of 14 women, 10 men and 10 minors, were located aboard the vehicle on Highway 57, on the border between San Luis Potosí and Nuevo León.
According to Luis Cresencio Sandoval, Secretary of National Defense, nine of the migrants were found on Tuesday in Doctor Arroyo, a municipality in Nuevo León, while on Wednesday, in Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, another six were found.
“The first migrants gave us the information that they had arrived at a gas station to refuel, and from there they had been approached by members of organized crime, that was the only information that had been initially obtained,” the official revealed to the press. .
One last migrant was located near El Tajo, Nuevo León, before finding the other 33 undocumented foreigners.
“Some were found walking and others in some facilities, in some houses that were there in the area. We have no detainees, but investigations continue. The migrants will obviously give us some data that can help us identify the people who did this,” she added.
According to the San Luis Potosí Attorney General’s Office, some of the migrants were located after an operation carried out by agents of the National Defense Secretariat, who used a helicopter to carry out the search.
Kidnappings are just one of the many risks faced by undocumented migrants trying to reach the United States irregularly, especially in areas near the country’s northern border.
#FiscaliaSLP | Potosi Prosecutor’s Office rescues 34 people in Nuevo León who were kidnapped when they were on a bus.
During the day, another six had already been found by the GCE.
More details: https://t.co/xlwtegvbbT#AFiscalíaCloserToThePeople pic.twitter.com/JHWu3NUZIk– Prosecutor’s Office San Luis Potosí (@FiscaliaSLP) May 18, 2023
