Mexico rescues 39 kidnapped Central American immigrants

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Local police and federal soldiers rescued 39 Central American immigrants on Monday at a residence in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, state security authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

More than half of the freed immigrants, or 19, were Honduran nationals, while 13 were from El Salvador and seven others from Guatemala.

The group, including 16 minors and seven females, was found in a town of Altamira just north of the port city of Tampico. Authorities said they found the equivalent of about $520 (£308) in Guatemalan and Honduran currency in the residence.

Over the past several months, U.S., Mexican and Central American officials have struggled to stop a surge of immigrants attempting to cross into the United States, including tens of thousands of unaccompanied children.

(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Ken Wills)