Mexican navy rescues 104 migrants

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NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico, March 11 (UPI) -- The Mexican Navy said it had freed 104 Central American migrants apparently kidnapped by a crime organization in Nuevo Laredo.

The navy said the rescue Friday followed a tip from a resident living near the home were the migrants were held, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Ninety-one men and 13 women were freed, officials said. Two of the migrants were from El Salvador and the rest from Honduras.

Mexican cartels have been kidnapping and extorting Central American immigrants traveling through Mexico to the United States, the Times said. Sometimes the migrants are slaughtered.

In Jalisco state, officials said gunmen assassinated Jose de Jesus Gallegos Alvarez, the state's tourism minister, in a suburb of Guadalajara on Saturday.

The Times said Gallegos Alvarez had been tourism minister for only a few days. Reports in Mexico said his slaying likely was tied to business he conducted before taking the tourism position.