4 Americans assaulted and kidnapped by gunmen in unsafe Mexico border town over mistaken identity
MATAMOROS, MEXICO: In a tragic incident, four US citizens were assaulted and kidnapped by gunmen in northeastern Mexico on Friday, March 3, 2023, in a case of mistaken identity. It is believed that the four citizens were targeted by mistake. The FBI claimed that the unidentified US citizens were ambushed by gunmen who fired at the group in Matamoros.
The four victims had crossed from Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas. They had journeyed to the border city for medical procedures as receipts and bills were discovered in their vehicle. The four victims traveled in a white minivan that has a North Carolina license plate.
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How were the 4 men kidnapped?
A video shared by Daily Mail shows one of the gunmen escorting a woman to the pickup truck and forcing her to sit on the flatbed. "All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men," said the authorities. Meanwhile, the FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and also to the ones who help in the arrest of the culprits.
'Working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government'
US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said, "We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens,” Salazar said. “This is the most fundamental role of the US government. Officials from various US law enforcement agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to achieve the safe return of our compatriots.”
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said, "From the first moment, communication was established between state and federal authorities to address the criminal event, in which two affected vehicles were located, one of them with license plates from the US state of North Carolina."
Tamaulipas Public Security Minister Sergio Chavez said, “We had a problem, despite which the prosecutor’s office opened a file, which is that we have no report of the disappearance of these people, so there was speculation about where they came from. But today there is already some information that was found in the same van – a credential and other documents – on this basis the prosecutor’s office is orienting the search for these missing people," as per CNN.
What was revealed through the photos from the site?
A set of photos of the kidnapping site were released by CNN. However, the authenticity of the images has not been confirmed. The pictures showed a woman sitting next to three other men. All the doors of the van were open. However, it still has not been determined whether they are US citizens. The photos show that the woman is being pushed onto the bed of a white pickup truck. Meanwhile, some of the kidnapped individuals can be seen lying on the street next to the pickup truck.
The US State Department had previously issued a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory to US citizens going to Tamaulipas due to various crimes and kidnappings. It stated, "Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo: US government employees may only travel within a limited radius around and between the US Consulates in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros, their homes, the respective US Ports of Entry, and limited downtown sites, subject to an overnight curfew," as per Travel.state.Gov.