Here’s how the White House reacted to the discovery of Americans kidnapped in Matamoros

On the morning of March 7, during the conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the discovery of the four American citizens kidnapped four days earlier in matamorosTamaulipas.

Latavia McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown y Eric James Williams They were attacked and deprived of their freedom by an armed commando on the morning of Friday 3 March. Of the four victims, McGee and Williams were saved alive, but Woodard and Brown died.

At around 11 a.m. on March 7, the surviving victims returned to the United States with the support of security institutions and US consulate personnel.

After the discovery of American citizens was notified, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierreexpressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

During a press conference, Jean-Pierre reiterated the refusal of the presidency of this type of attack against American citizens. “They are unacceptable no matter where and under what circumstances they occur.”

In this sense, he recalled that in the previous months the President Joe Biden signed an order to supply the Treasury Department more powers to sanction cartels and their leaders. “We remain committed to applying the full weight of our efforts and resources to counter them,” the White House press secretary said.

In parallel and in connection with this same subject, the ambassador Ken Salazar externalized sound Concern over “the control exercised by the Gulf Cartel in the area known as the small border”. It should be noted that this criminal organization has been identified as possibly responsible for the kidnapping of American citizens.

Asked about the position of the American government in this situation and its recommendations to the public, Karine Jean-Pierre recalled that Tamaulipas remains with a travel alert level 4who recommends avoiding any type of visit “due to crimes and kidnappings”.

“The Department of State issues these alerts, it tries to communicate what is happening (in certain countries) for the safety of people. I would make sure that if Americans are considering going to Mexico, they heed that call.”

Subsequently, the press asked the official if President Biden would have the same approach to Mexican cartels that the United States has had with groups such as Al-Qaeda oh Islamic State (Daesh).

“The President takes this very seriously.. The FBI and other agencies have been aware of this since day one and they will continue to do so,” he responded first. “When it comes to the lives and safety of Americans, the president will always ensure that it’s the top priorityadded Jean-Pierre.

Under that same account, a reporter wondered if Joe Biden would consider authorizing the use of the armed forces to confront Mexican cartels, but the spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. “I’m just not going to get into the subject of the army and how it is used,” he said.

Remember that since January 2023 the delegates And Crenshaw y Michael Waltz presented to the House of Representatives an initiative aimed at maximize the powers of the US military so that it can fight against the Mexican criminal groups responsible for trafficking fentanyl and causing regional instability through the violence they commit.

In order for the use of “all necessary and appropriate force” by the United States armed forces to confront the Mexican cartels to become effective, the proposal must be approved by said legislative body and sent to the Senate.

In the event that the Senate gives the green light to this resolution, it will reach the hands of the President Joe Biden and it will be he who, in the end, will have the last word to decide whether the project becomes law.