Two of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico have been found alive

Now it is claimed that it was a mistake. The kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros tragically ended with the death of two of them. reported the Mexican authorities, who suspect that the kidnappers – alleged drug traffickers – confused them with other people.

Based on information from the governor of Tamaulipas, it is now believed that the Americans were in Mexico. because one of them was planning to have cosmetic surgery.

The other two hostages were rescued alive and handed over to US authorities at the border bridge connecting the cities of Matamoros and Brownsville, while the deceased will be repatriated “in the next few hours” after the autopsy, said Américo Villarreal, the state’s governor. from Tamaulipas.

One of the survivors, identified only as Eric N., suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, while a woman (Latavia N.) escaped unharmed, the governor said at a news conference with the Armed Forces High Command in Mexico’s Ciudad.

The American media identified them as Latavia Washington McGee and Eric James Williams.

The names of the deceased have not yet been released.

“We will work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is served on this case,” White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

A man responsible for watching over the victims was held where they were held captive, a wooden house in a suburb of Matamoros.

The transfer of the survivors took place amid a massive apparatus involving some 20 vehicles, including ambulances and security service vans, an AFP official noted.

Drug smugglers of the Gulf Cartel

Mexican authorities believe the kidnappers belonged to the Gulf Cartel and mistook the Americans for enemies.

“The line (research) is being reinforced that it was confusion, it was not direct aggression. That is the line we have now as the most viable and it is certainly the most correct,” Tamaulipas prosecutor Irving Barrios assured at the same conference.

However, he clarified that all hypotheses remain open.

for surgery

The Americans had arrived in Matamoros on Friday morning in a van that was attacked by gunmen some two hours later, according to an investigation revealed on Tuesday. A 33-year-old Mexican woman died near the crime scene, possibly the victim of a stray bullet, according to the investigation.

The governor of Tamaulipas stated that “there is no basis for thinking” that the victims had “any relationship” with the US Federal Police (FBI), as speculated on social networks.

According to the governor, the Americans were in Mexico because one of them was planning to have cosmetic surgery.

The Mexican officials avoided putting forward any hypotheses about the circumstances of the time and place in which the prisoners died.

According to preliminary research, all hostages lived at least until Monday.

“During the three days following the crime, the four people deprived of their liberty were moved to different places, including a clinic, to create confusion and prevent rescue attempts,” the governor said.

Villarreal said the investigation to find the others responsible will be supported by the United States, which has offered $50,000 to locate the victims and arrest the kidnappers.

Mexico has committed some 350,000 murders and tens of thousands have disappeared since a controversial anti-drug offensive was launched in 2006, with military participation and support from the United States.

High risk

Matamoros is one of the cities hardest hit by violence related to drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime.

The roads of Tamaulipas are considered some of the most dangerous in Mexico.

In fact, for several months the United States has maintained a warning so that its citizens refrain from traveling to that state because of kidnappings and other crimes.

According to that warning, organized crime activity there includes shootings, murders, robberies, kidnappings, enforced disappearances, extortion and assaults.