MEXICO CITY: According to local authorities, nine migrants belonging to a group kidnapped during a bus trip in northeastern Mexico on Tuesday have been found.

The migrants were found “wandering” on a rural portion of the road connecting the towns of Matehuala, in San Luis Potosi state, and Saltillo, in Coahuila, the State Security Department said on Tuesday. NewLeon.

“They were among the group of people deprived of their liberty in the territory of the state of San Luis Potosi,” the ministry said on its Facebook page. First six men calling for help were found, then three more people.

“The rescued foreign people are between 18 and 35 years old and come from Venezuela and Honduras,” the ministry added.

For his part, the Minister of Security of Nuevo León, Gerardo Palacios, announced on social networks that the nine migrants “escaped their captors (…) by entering the territory of Nuevo León”.

Local authorities had previously reported the disappearance of migrants whose vehicle was found abandoned in Nuevo Leon state.

The kidnapped group included 50 migrants and two Mexican drivers whose ransom demanded $1,500 each, according to the National Confederation of Carriers.

The vehicle, the organization adds, had left Tapachula in Chiapas state (southeast), the gateway for undocumented migrants entering Mexico from Guatemala.

In April, 35 people, including Mexican tourists and migrants, were kidnapped while crossing the state of San Luis Potosi.

They were found aboard five vans guarded by armed men in a desert area.

In early May, Mexican authorities found ten Colombian migrants in Sonora state (northeast) who were allegedly abducted while attempting to cross the border into the United States.

Incidents of this nature have multiplied in recent months as the number of migrants trying to enter the United States before the end of Title 42, a lockdown measure put in place during the pandemic, has multiplied. This system, activated in 2020 and expired on Thursday evening, allowed for the immediate deportation of visa-free migrants, including asylum-seekers, in the name of the public health emergency.