42 people rescued in northwest Mexico after mass kidnappings by criminal groups

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities said they rescued 42 hostages, including 18 children, from criminal groups Saturday after a wave of kidnappings in Sinaloa state, where more than 600 special force troops were sent to beef up security.

Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha said an intensive operation by police and military forces was still trying to find 24 more people who were kidnapped.

Kidnappings en masse took place Friday in different areas of the La Noria region, outside Sinaloa’s capital city of Culiacan. Members of criminal groups made hostages of at least three families, local public security chief Gerardo Mérida said.

Federal authorities sent special forces troops to Sinaloa to search for the missing people. An additional 300 soldiers and a National Guard battalion are also operating in the area.

Local authorities have not said who was behind the mass kidnappings, which took place one day after three people were killed in the state’s Badiraguato region.

Culiacan and other cities in the state have been the scenes of violent incidents in recent years, with killings by members of the powerful Sinaloa cartel.

For non-governmental organisation Aangan Trust, this is the adage that guides their work in building communities which protect children from trafficking, child marriage, hazardous work, violence, and exploitation. A once unimaginable partnership, Aangan Trust brings together social systems that previously didn’t collaborate — think schools, police, village councils and others — to ensure the safety of vulnerable children in their communities.

One of the issues that the organisation focuses on is preventing child marriages. Despite being illegal, over 100 million girls are at risk of child marriage over the next ten years.  

Helming this movement is a team of steadfast, skilled volunteers, all of them women, some who were child brides themselves.

Aangan Trust is headquartered in Mumbai, but works in nine districts across India with some of the highest rates of child trafficking, hazardous labour, early marriage, and violence in the country. It provides rigorous training for volunteers, equipping them with the confidence to hold their own when speaking with people in authority.

“Earlier I would feel scared to go to such places because I was unsure about how I would speak, what I would say,” shares volunteer Piyali Mondal. “Now I don’t even have to think before going to the BDO office, the police station, or the panchayat (village council).”