Mexican authorities reported in the last few hours that the 31 migrants kidnapped on a bus over the weekend near the border with the United States have been rescued.
The bus left Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo León, and had as its final destination the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, from where the migrants were going to try to cross into the United States along the border with Texas. They were intercepted when they were near the municipality of Reynosa, another border city. After the rescue, Mexican authorities did not clarify which criminal group was behind the kidnapping.
Governor Américo Villareal has just informed us that the 31 migrants kidnapped in Tamaulipas have been rescued safe and sound. Thanks to the state authorities, the national guard and the armed forces.
Acaba de informarnos el Gobernador Américo Villareal que fueron rescatados sanos y salvos los 31 migrantes secuestrados en Tamaulipas. Gracias a las autoridades del Estado, a la guardia nacional y a las fuerzas armadas.
— Luisa Alcalde (@LuisaAlcalde) January 3, 2024
The Mexican Executive confirmed before the rescue that among those kidnapped there were citizens of Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras or Ecuador. The Government of Tamaulipas, the State Attorney General's Office, the Army, the National Guard and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection participated in the search operation in recent days.
Kidnapping is a new criminal act in one of the most dangerous land migration routes in the world. The US-Mexico border was the "most dangerous land migratory route in the world" in 2022, with 686 dead or missing, according to a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published in September.
Nearly half (307) of those deaths on the US-Mexico border were linked to dangerous crossings of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. Added to the intrinsic danger of the journey to the United States, whose numbers reached record figures last year, is the presence of drug cartels, which take advantage of the migration crisis to bring their merchandise into the country.
