The governor of Tamaulipas state, one of the most dangerous in the country, stated that “of the four (Americans) two are dead, one injured and the other alive.”
Two out of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen on Friday in Matamoros, a city in northeastern Mexico bordering the United States, were found dead on Tuesday, the governor of Tamaulipas state, one of the most dangerous in the country, said .
“This has been confirmed by prosecutors, of the four (Americans), two are dead, one injured and the other alive,” Gov. Americo Villarreal said by phone during the morning news briefing of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“The ambulances and the rest of the security personnel will now provide the necessary support for the transfer and any medical assistance that may be required,” the governor added, without giving further details on the health of the two Americans found alive.
He also did not specify where the hostages were found, although the operations, carried out by the Mexican authorities in coordination with American intelligence, covered a large area of Tamaulipas, to which Matamoros belongs.
Cooperation with US authorities
US authorities responded immediately, announcing that they “will work closely with the Mexican government to ensure justice is done,” said John Kirby, White House spokesman for national security. Attacks on American citizens are “unacceptable,” he said, and expressed his “deepest condolences” to the families of the two dead.
The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for any assistance that helps get the hostages released and the suspects arrested. The four Americans, whose identities were not released, had crossed Matamoros in a North Carolina-registered white minivan before being attacked by gunfire and then kidnapped by gunmen, the FBI said in a statement released Monday by the U.S. Embassy was published in Mexico.
According to the Mexican President, the victims are said to have traveled to Mexico to buy drugs. Mexican authorities also said Monday that a Mexican woman lost her life in the firefight.
“We are sorry that this is happening in our country and we offer our condolences to the families of the victims, their friends, the people of the United States and the United States government,” Manuel Lopez Obrador said after deaths were confirmed. . “We work every day to guarantee peace and tranquility and we will work like this again,” he added. On Monday he received the United States Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, to discuss the case.
A region plagued by criminal groups
The city of Matamoros, on the border with the United States, is riddled with violence linked to drug trafficking and organized crime.
The roads in the Tamaulipas region are considered the most dangerous in Mexico due to the risk of kidnapping and extortion by criminal groups.
The US State Department advises against travel to the region. “Criminal groups target public and private buses and cars passing through Tamaulipas, often holding passengers hostage and demanding ransom,” the travel advisory said.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price reminded US citizens Monday that the Tamaulipas recommendation remains in effect. “Don’t go there. We encourage Americans to heed that advice,” he said.