MEXICO CITY—Sixteen Mexican state security ministry employees were freed on Friday after being kidnapped earlier in the week in the southern state of Chiapas, authorities said, following a three-day search.
“All of them are OK,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.
The employees, all men, were kidnapped Tuesday by an armed group on a highway near the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez after leaving work, authorities said.
More than 1,000 federal and state agents joined the search, and two people were detained earlier in the week.
Local news outlets showed images of families gathered at the ministry’s offices, breaking into tears as they reunited with the kidnap victims. One woman was shown sobbing, yelling out, “Thank you Lord!”…