Two Security Ministry (SSPC) agents were kidnapped on Thursday by members of a crime gang in the western state of Michoacán, but were quickly rescued after a rapid deployment of federal and state officials.

Three suspects were detained and, as operations continued, a previous kidnap victim was also freed. 

SSPC officers Josselyn Herrera Noriega and Carlos Calderón Velázquez were conducting an investigation in the municipality of Álvaro Obregón near the Morelia international airport when the incident occurred. 

According to the website El Blog del Narco, armed thugs accosted the agents in their vehicle, stripped them of their weapons and beat them, before carrying them off.

When the agents failed to check in with headquarters, a rescue operation was quickly organized. The SSPC contacted state authorities and coordinated maneuvers with the Defense Ministry (Sedena) and the National Guard (GN).

Details of the mission have not been released to the media, but the newspaper El Universal reported that unnamed federal authorities said one of the suspects confessed under interrogation to being a member of ​​the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

On Thursday evening, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch posted a message of gratitude on X:

“Today in Álvaro Obregón, Michoacán, two SSPC colleagues were deprived of their freedom while conducting investigative work. Thanks to the immediate deployment of [Sedena and the GN] as well as state authorities, both were rescued alive and are safe.”

García Harfuch singled out the Michoacán Attorney General’s Office, the state government and the state Security Ministry for their assistance in carrying out the operation. He also praised the rescued investigators for their bravery and service to the nation.

The kidnap of the SSPC officers could have been in retaliation for the Aug. 27 capture of alleged CJNG boss René Belmonte, aka “El Rhino,” in Uruapan, Michoacán

Mexican authorities and the CJNG have clashed several times in Michoacán this year.

Three soldiers were killed in that state by the CJNG during a series of attacks in March. The same cartel was blamed for an April incident in which 10 Michoacán highways were blockaded and two police officers were slain.

The Army and the CJNG engaged in a shootout in western Michoacán in July.

With reports from El Universal, La Jornada, Milenio and El Blog del Narco