16 Kidnapped People Released In Nuevo Leon; Six More Missing

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat

The Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA) confirmed, on April 1, 2024, the release of 16 people who were abducted, on the 27th of March, by a group of armed men, in the municipality from Salinas Victoria, in Nuevo León.

According to a statement issued by the institution of the Armed Forces, elements of the Mexican Army and the National Guard, in coordination with state and municipal authorities, located the 16 kidnapped people, members of several families, among whom were children, of the communities of Los Villareales and Los Morales.

However, SEDENA did not specify in the statement how they were located or if there were any arrests. “Sources close to the state Attorney General’s Office reported that the people had apparently arrived at their homes on their own,” said the newspaper Reforma.

On March 30, 2024, special groups of the Mexican Army arrived in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas to join the search for the people who were abducted. On the other hand, SEDENA itself reported that they continued to search for six more people, who were kidnapped in the municipality of Ciénega de Flores, also during the last days of March of this year.

“Sources from the State Prosecutor’s Office highlighted in the morning that from the municipality of Ciénega de Flores, 13 people had been kidnapped on March 23 and 24 and that seven had appeared that same week. The source from the Prosecutor’s Office and SEDENA confirmed that as of this afternoon of Monday, April 1, six people kidnapped in Ciénega de Flores remain missing,” the newspaper added.

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