Step by step of the kidnapping and death of American citizens in Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Four US citizens were attacked, kidnapped and two of them died following acts of violence matamoros, Tamaulipas. Their discovery was made days after they were attacked by armed civilians.

On the afternoon of Friday March 3, the Tamaulipas Public Security Secretary (SSP) reported on shootings in the municipality of Matamoros. On this occasion, the security institution indicated the death of a person as the first report.

In addition, the site was visited by members of the Department of National Defense (sedena), there National Guard and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar), which increased their presence in the region.

Through images that circulated on social networks, it was observed that a group of people were depositing several body on the back of a white van. Unofficial reports indicated that the victims were US citizens, this information was later confirmed.

For the night of Sunday, March 5, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI by their name in English) indicated that they were asking help identify those responsible for the kidnappingit should be noted that it was the said institution that confirmed that they were people from the United States and also offered a reward of $50,000.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) talked about the kidnapping during the morning conference on Monday, March 6. The President assured that the issue was already being worked on.

“I think it will be resolved, I hope. (…) The information we have is that they crossed the border buy medicine in mexico and there was a confrontation between the groups and they were arrested (…) The whole government is working on it,” AMLO commented.

On the same day, López Obrador held a meeting with him ambassador from the United States to Mexico, Ken Salazar, who in turn shared a statement detailing that US authorities were already collaborating with the Mexican government. Also on Monday, March 6, the Names the victims. This is Latvia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.

The governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, informed the discovery of the four victims through a call with President López Obrador during the conference on Tuesday, March 7. Two people were found dead, another was injured and another is unharmed.

Subsequently, before 11:00 a.m., the citizens were delivered to border bridge number two. Federal and state institutions participated in said delivery in coordination with US consulate personnel.

According to investigations by the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office, at noon on March 3, authorities received a report from a lifeless person in downtown Tamaulipas. There were two vehicles at the scene that collided. It was a brown Chevrolet pickup and a white Chrysler, the latter had North Carolina license plates.

While checking the interior of the vehicle, it was confirmed that it was US citizens. For Saturday March 4, a research in different hospitals public and private to trace those affected.

They were then reviewed recordings of the C5 Reynosa in which it was possible to see the route of the white Chrysler truck and how it was followed by other vehicles. Shortly before 12:00 in the videos one van Silverado black from the one armed civilians came out. After these actions, a white Sierra truck arrived into which the victims were loaded.

“The three men and the woman who were forced into the van got out and tried to flee. At this moment armed civilians shoot at themthey fall to the ground and are approached by armed civilians who they drag the wounded“, detailed the prosecution.

On Saturday 6 March, various security institutions conducted a operational in the common areas of the neighborhood and in the afternoon an anonymous report said they were detaining the victims in a camp, the authorities came but with no positive result.

On Tuesday March 7, a search operation was carried out in the Ejido El Tecolotewhere they found two dead people and two living men. Consequently it was stopped a man identified as Jose Guadalupe “N”allegedly involved in the facts.