Mexico rescues foreign guests abducted from hotel

Gunmen stormed a hotel in the central city of Matehula

Some 22 suspected migrants who were abducted by gunmen at a hotel in Mexico have been rescued, authorities say.

They were kidnapped when armed men stormed the Sol y Luna hotel in the central city of Matehuala in the early hours of Tuesday.

The victims, who include children and a pregnant woman, are mostly from Haiti and Cuba, Reuters news agency reported. Earlier accounts had said some were Venezuelan.

The gunmen also kidnapped 16 Mexicans.

While the Mexicans were released sooner, the foreigners were found beside a dirt road in a remote area. They are receiving medical help.

The kidnappers had arrived in three SUVs, the prosecutor's office in San Luis Potosi state said. They also took the hotel's logbook of guests, complicating the search.

But officials found some of the victims' ID cards in their rooms, local media reported.

The state's attorney general Arturo Garza Herrera said: "I am going to notify the migration institute so that they can be involved since we do not know the migratory status of these people."

Migrants who enter Mexico hoping to cross into the US can face considerable danger, from rape and murder to conscription by drug cartels. Some are held until their families pay for their release.

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In 2015, more than 100 migrants were held hostage by gang members for five weeks, before being rescued by police.

The number of migrants heading for the US via Mexico increased after President Joe Biden took office, promising to lift some of his predecessor Donald Trump's immigration restrictions.