Mexican mayor found alive after hours-long abduction

Miguel Angel Almaraz, mayor of the Mexican border municipality of Rio Bravo, was found alive on Sunday after being abducted the previous day in Zacatecas state. Federal officials said his captors released him hours after taking him to the city of Zacatecas; the reason for the abduction remains unclear, and authorities are investigating.

Almaraz was travelling with family and friends when armed men intercepted their car and took him, allowing the others to leave. His relatives alerted authorities from a town in neighbouring San Luis Potosi. Rio Bravo has about 110,000 residents and lies 11km from the Texas border, while Zacatecas has seen violence linked to the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, including a car bomb that injured 11 people in August.