16 police workers released after being kidnapped in southern Mexico

JUNE 30, 2023 / 11:25 PM / AP

After three days of captivity, 16 police employees kidnapped in southern Mexico were released Friday. Rutilio Escandón, governor of Chiapas state, confirmed their return on Twitter.
"I want to inform the people of Chiapas and Mexico that the 16 kidnapped colleagues have been released this afternoon," he wrote in the post.

No details were given on the circumstances of their release. The kidnappers had demanded the dismissal of three local police officials in Chiapas and the release of local singer Neyeli Cinco, who was abducted last week by another gang.

The police workers were captured Tuesday by gunmen in several vans that intercepted a police transport truck on the Ocozocoautla-Tuxtla Gutiérrez highway. The gunmen took all the male employees but left 17 women.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the group worked at a local prison, apparently as guards or administrative staff, though they are formally employed by the state police.

More:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/16-police-workers-released-kidnapping-southern-mexico-chiapas/