Mexico frees 31 Cuban migrants held at house in Cancun

MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities say they have rescued 31 Cuban migrants who were being held at a house in the Caribbean city of Cancun.

A government statement Saturday says police acting on a tip located the 22 men and nine women. The migrants said that armed captors had held them and demanded money to be freed.

They did not have migratory documents and were given food and medical evaluations ahead of being repatriated.

Cancun is on the northern Yucatan Peninsula about 120 miles (200 kilometres) from westernmost Cuba. It has been a popular route for migrants leaving the Caribbean nation by sea, usually headed for the U.S.

Washington recently ended a policy that for years had let nearly all Cubans who reached U.S. soil stay and gave them a path to residency.

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