According to a US official familiar with the investigation, a group of four US citizens were assaulted and abducted by gunmen in northeastern Mexico on Friday in a case of mistaken identity. The Americans were not the intended targets, as investigators believe that a Mexican cartel mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers. The Americans had traveled to the border city of Matamoros for medical procedures, and it is believed that the attackers fired on their vehicle by mistake. Unfortunately, an innocent Mexican citizen was killed in the incident.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador offered a similar explanation, saying that the Americans had crossed the border to purchase medicines, and that there was a confrontation between groups, which resulted in their detention. This incident highlights the ongoing violence in some Mexican cities, which have been wracked by organized crime, particularly since the Mexican Drug War began in 2006, as well as the growing business of “medical tourism.”
The FBI is currently seeking the public’s help in finding the missing Americans and identifying those responsible. The agency has announced a reward of $50,000 for their safe return and the arrest of those involved. The FBI is cooperating with other federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies to investigate the kidnapping. Mexican state officials have also activated federal and local resources to locate the missing people, and an investigation is underway.
Photos obtained by CNN show the car believed to have been driven by the Americans crashed with another vehicle before they were taken at gunpoint from the scene. The FBI has not confirmed the authenticity of the images, but CNN has confirmed their authenticity with a US official familiar with the investigation. The photos show a woman looking and then sitting next to three unmoving people lying on the ground outside a white minivan. All the doors of the van were open, and it is unclear whether the four people in the photos were the US citizens.
Matamoros, a city of more than 500,000 people, is located just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas. The US State Department has issued a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory for US citizens considering traveling to Tamaulipas, citing crime and kidnapping.