Mexican security forces search for about 50 migrants who were kidnapped from a commercial bus

Mexican authorities are conducting a search for approximately 50 migrants who were abducted from a commercial bus, according to reports on Wednesday.

The kidnapping occurred in the central state of San Luis Potosi, as confirmed by the local Attorney General’s Office. The bus, with both drivers missing, was discovered in the border state of Nuevo Leon on Tuesday. The exact timing of the incident was not specified.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced in a press conference that the National Guard has been deployed to locate the missing migrants.

On Tuesday, Nuevo Leon’s security agency tweeted that they had rescued nine migrants, aged between 18 and 35, from Honduras and Venezuela. However, the San Luis Potosi Attorney General’s Office is still verifying if these nine individuals were part of the larger group that was kidnapped.

The state of San Luis Potosi has experienced an increase in organized crime involvement in migrant trafficking. The number of migrants passing through the region on their way to the United States has risen, partly due to the recent termination of a border policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy had allowed US authorities to quickly expel many migrants.