Abducted mayor, officials in northern Mexico freed, governor says

The mayor of a small town in northern Mexico near the US border and a group of officials have reportedly been freed.

Yellow police tape lies on the road as federal agents work at a crime scene in the town in Mexico  (photo credit: ALEJANDRO ACOSTA/REUTERS)
Yellow police tape lies on the road as federal agents work at a crime scene in the town in Mexico
(photo credit: ALEJANDRO ACOSTA/REUTERS)

The mayor of a small northern Mexican town and a group of local officials kidnapped by armed men have been freed, the governor of the border state of Coahuila said on Saturday.

Mario Cedillo Infante, mayor of Guerrero, Coahuila, was abducted with eight other people on Friday night after being pursued by two trucks with armed men in the city of Nuevo Laredo, officials in Coahuila said earlier on Saturday.

Miguel Angel Riquelme, Coahuila's governor, said on Facebook he had been informed by the state attorney general that Cedillo and the rest of those missing had been set free after the Mexican armed forces joined the police search for them.

Riquelme said he expected to have more details soon.

A US border patrol agent looks over the Rio Grande river at the border between United States and Mexico, in Roma, Texas, US, May 11, 2017 (credit: REUTERS)
A US border patrol agent looks over the Rio Grande river at the border between United States and Mexico, in Roma, Texas, US, May 11, 2017 (credit: REUTERS)

The border city of Nuevo Laredo is in nearby Tamaulipas state, and has long been notorious for gang violence.