Four Colombians, among the victims of mass kidnapping of migrants in Mexico

This Tuesday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed the kidnapping of 31 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, in the state of Tamaulipas. This fact coincides with a historic increase in migrants seeking to enter the United States, with more than 2.2 million people registered by the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) from January to November of last year.

The kidnapping, carried out by an armed group on the Reynosa-Matamoros highway, occurred while the migrants were traveling on a bus from the city of Monterrey to Matamoros, with the intention of attending their humanitarian asylum appointment in the United States.

After the incident, five of the 31 migrants were found in a vehicle on the Monterrey-Matamoros highway, while authorities continue the search for the others.

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, through his Twitter account, revealed that four Colombian citizens were among those kidnapped. Petro announced that the Colombian embassy in Mexico is working in coordination with the Mexican state to guarantee the safe rescue of those affected.

The Ministry of Public and Citizen Security of the federal government of Mexico is investigating the case, although the group responsible for the kidnapping and its motivations have not yet been identified.

Meanwhile, the head of the Executive Secretariat of Public Security in Tamaulipas, Jorge Cuéllar, explained in an interview with 'Foro TV' that after the kidnapping, the bus was escorted to the Matamoros headquarters by military personnel, the National Guard and the State Guard to carry out the corresponding investigations.

Likewise, the Tamaulipas Security spokesperson reported on their social networks that Along with the five migrants found were two of the people who had intercepted them on the bus, who then fled.

“Support was requested from the National Migration Institute, transferring people to Immigration offices,” he said.*With information from EFE