By ALFREDO PEÑA (Associated Press)
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — A street journey to Mexico for beauty surgical procedure ended with two Americans useless — and two others discovered alive in a rural space close to the Gulf coast — after a violent shootout and abduction that was captured on video, officers mentioned Tuesday.
The surviving Americans have been sped to the border close to Brownsville, the southernmost tip of Texas, in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs escorted by Mexican army Humvees and National Guard vehicles with mounted .50-caliber machine weapons.
A relative of one of many victims mentioned Monday that the 4 had traveled collectively from the Carolinas so considered one of them might get a tummy tuck from a physician within the Mexican border metropolis of Matamoros, the place Friday’s kidnapping passed off.
The U.S. residents have been present in a rural space east of Matamoros referred to as Ejido Longoreño on the best way to the Gulf coast often called “Bagdad Beach,” in accordance with a Mexican state legislation enforcement official. He spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not approved to publicly talk about the case. Word of their location got here to authorities earlier than daybreak Tuesday.
It was not instantly clear if the 2 our bodies have been additionally being returned to the U.S. In saying the Americans had been discovered, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal didn’t present particulars on the extent of the wounded individual’s accidents.
Shortly after coming into Mexico, the 4 have been caught amid preventing between rival cartel teams within the metropolis. Video and pictures taken throughout and instantly after the kidnapping present the Americans’ white minivan sitting beside one other automobile, with a minimum of one bullet gap within the driver’s aspect window. A witness mentioned the 2 automobiles had collided. Almost instantly, a number of males in tactical vests and toting assault rifles arrived in one other automobile to encompass the scene.
The gunmen walked one of many Americans into the mattress of a white pickup, then dragged and loaded the three others. Terrified drivers sat silently of their automobiles, hoping not to attract their consideration. Two of the victims gave the impression to be immobile.
Officials mentioned a Mexican lady additionally died in Friday’s crossfire.
The shootings illustrate the fear that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a metropolis dominated by factions of the highly effective Gulf drug cartel who typically combat amongst themselves. Amid the violence, 1000’s of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.
Villarreal confirmed the deaths by telephone throughout a morning information convention by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, saying particulars concerning the 4 kidnapped Americans had been confirmed by prosecutors.
López Obrador mentioned one individual was in custody.
“Those responsible will be found and they are going to be punished,” the president mentioned. He referenced arrests made within the 2019 killings of 9 U.S.-Mexican twin residents in Sonora close to the U.S. border.
He complained concerning the U.S. media’s protection of the lacking Americans, accusing them of sensationalism. “It’s not like that when they kill Mexicans in the United States, they go quiet like mummies.”
“It’s very unfortunate, they (the U.S. government) has the right to protest like they have,” López Obrador mentioned. “We really regret that this happens in our country.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed his sympathy for the households of the victims.
“The cartels are responsible for the deaths of Americans,” Garland mentioned. “The DEA and the FBI are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on.”
He wouldn’t affirm the Mexican authorities’s reviews that the 2 U.S. residents had died.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby mentioned the U.S. is working with Mexican officers to be taught extra concerning the circumstances surrounding the killings.
“Attacks on U.S citizens are unacceptable, no matter where, under what circumstances they occur,” Kirby mentioned.
The FBI had supplied a $50,000 reward for the victims’ return and the arrest of the abductors.
Robert Williams mentioned in a phone interview that his brother, 38-year-old Eric Williams, was among the many kidnapped Americans. The brothers are from South Carolina however now reside within the Winston-Salem space of North Carolina, he mentioned.
Williams described his brother as “easygoing” and “fun-spirited.”
He didn’t know his brother was touring to Mexico till after the kidnapping hit the information. But from taking a look at his brother’s Facebook posts, he thinks his brother didn’t contemplate the journey harmful.
“He thought it would be fun,” Williams mentioned. He hadn’t heard something about his brother’s whereabouts, he mentioned.
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AP writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Travis Loller in Nashville contributed to this report.
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