The migrants, headed to the United states, were killed by members of Los Zetas drug cartel, according to Mexican news site La Crónica.
Marines at a road checkpoint near the ranch in San Feranando, Tamaulipas became alarmed by a wounded man asking for medical help.
The man declared to be an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, who escaped the aggression of the criminal gang at the ranch.
As troops, supported by air and naval units, entered the ranch, gang members opened fire before fleeing in several vehicles.
The bodies of 58 men and 14 women were found on the premises.
Mexican media reported that Los Zetas intercepted the group of illegal migrants on their way to the United States. When the immigrants refused to work for them, the criminals were ordered them killed.
The area is known for the active criminal gangs, organized around drug trade. Illegal immigrants, paying huge sums of money to get into the US, are sometimes used as drug couriers.
The violence surrounding drug trafficking in Mexico has killed 28,000 people in the last four years.
