MEXICO CITY
Police in Axapusco rescued 103 migrants held hostage at a safe house just outside of Mexico City.
The victims were mostly from Guatemala and El Salvador and had been confined for 35 days, according to local police who said one of the migrants managed to escape and ran to a local police office to alert authorities.
The undocumented migrants, including children and women, were attempting to reach the U.S. but their captors held them hostage and tried to extract ransom.
Five individuals were arrested and the migrants have been transferred to the Attorney General’s office in Mexico City where they will provide statements.
They will then be transported to the National Institute of Migration where authorities will determine their legal status.
Every year, approximately 150,000 migrants – mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Savaldor – attempt to make it to the U.S., passing illegally through Mexico which launched the South Border Plan last August in an effort to contain migration and protect migrants.
The number of migration control posts and officers has been increased in southern states as part of the initiative.
But human rights activists have strongly criticized the measure that they say have increased the number of attacks against migrants without stemming the flow of migrants.
