Mexico rescues 70 kidnapped Central American migrants

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican security forces rescued 70 Central American migrants, including children, who were being held captive in a house in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, authorities said on Friday. The migrants, most of whom were from Honduras and El Salvador, were found on Thursday in Madero, about 310 miles (500 km) from the U.S. border, a statement from the government of Tamaulipas state said. Last month Mexican state police rescued 165 migrants who had also been kidnapped in Tamaulipas. Tamaulipas, in northeastern Mexico, is a battleground between the Gulf Cartel gang and its ultra-violent rivals the Zetas, who are involved in migrant smuggling and drug trafficking. The cartels sometimes organize smuggling of people across the border, charging for the service or forcing migrants to carry drugs for them. The Zetas were blamed for the killing of hundreds of migrants found in mass graves in Tamaulipas in 2010 and 2011. The recent rescues come amid a spike in the number of unaccompanied children traveling from Central America to try to cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Around 57,000 children from Central America have been detained at the border after crossing without their parents in the nine months through June this year. (Reporting by Elinor Comlay; Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)