Mexico deploys National Guard troops to find 50 abducted migrants

MEXICO CITY

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador deployed National Guard troops Wednesday to find the more than 50 migrants who were kidnapped late Tuesday in northern Mexico.

Authorities reported that migrants traveling on a bus were kidnapped on the border between San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Leon.

The bus departed from Tapachula, a southern city bordering Guatemala, and was headed to the state of Nuevo Leon, carrying 52 passengers of foreign origin and two drivers, according to preliminary reports.

Nuevo Leon’s security chief Gerardo Palacios said the National Guard found migrants who escaped their captors in San Luis Potosi. But Palacios or the National Guard did not disclose the number rescued by security agencies.

Lopez Obrador said troops were deployed in the region in an attempt to rescue the remaining victims.

"Some of the migrants have already been found, and we hope to rescue them," he said at a news conference and warned migrants of the dangers of relying on smugglers.

The disappearances follow similar cases reported in the region and other areas of the country.

On April 6, authorities in San Luis Potosi rescued 96 migrants after reports of the abduction of 27 migrants in Matehuala.

The military and police rescued 113 migrants May 7 in Sonora in northeastern Mexico.

Authorities were led to the migrants following the kidnapping of 10 Ecuadorians looking to cross the border into the US.
Lopez Obrador insisted that migrants look for legal and safe ways to travel and not pay smugglers who charge $8,000 and are often linked to criminal rings.