Matamoros, Mexico, is a stronghold of various criminal organizations, especially the Gulf Cartel. U.S. and Mexican officials said four U.S. citizens were abducted with guns in the city on Friday.
Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images
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Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images
Matamoros, Mexico, is a stronghold of various criminal organizations, especially the Gulf Cartel. U.S. and Mexican officials said four U.S. citizens were abducted with guns in the city on Friday.
Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar met with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico City on Monday because the status and whereabouts of the four Americans abducted by gun are unknown.
Unidentified US citizens were ambushed Friday by gunmen who opened fire on the group shortly after they traveled from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, according to to the FBI. The American was driving a white pickup truck with a North Carolina license plate.
The kidnappers moved all four into another vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Salazar noted that an innocent Mexican citizen was killed in the attack.
“We have no greater priority than the safety of our citizens – this is the most fundamental role of the US government,” the ambassador said in a statement. declare.
Salazar said various law enforcement agencies are working with Mexican authorities “at all levels of government to achieve the safe return of our compatriots.”
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the Americans and the arrest of those involved.
The President of Mexico offers a theory about the kidnapping
López Obrador on Monday told reporters in his daily press conference that the kidnapped group had crossed the border to buy drugs in Mexico.
He did not say how he or other officials came to the conclusion, but he told reporters that he had been in contact with governor Tamaulipas.
“There was a confrontation between the groups and they were detained,” said López Obrador. “The whole government is working on it.”
He added: “I think it will work out, that’s what I hope.”
An unnamed US official is said to be told CNN that U.S. citizens “went to the border city of Matamoros for medical procedures,” citing receipts found in the abandoned vehicle.
FBI officials told NPR they would not comment on López Obrador’s remarks nor on the receipt reports.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speak America will “push [the Mexican government] to bring those responsible to justice.”
“Obviously, we want to be really careful here. There are privacy concerns, so I don’t want to share too much information about how we’re moving forward,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. reporter.
Neither the White House nor the FBI released any further information about the circumstances of the attack beyond previous statements by the FBI and ambassador.
The drug cartels ruled Matamoros informally
For many years, Matamoros has been a stronghold for many hostile criminal organizationsespecially the Gulf Cartel, which used the city as a main pipeline to transport cocainemeth and fentanyl across the border into Texas — and from there all over America
Since 2010, when the drug war began to break out between factions, the city has been under unofficial control belong to Gulf Cartel.
The state of Tamaulipas is considered one of the most violent places in Mexico. Most recently in October, the US State Department grant “Level 4: Don’t Travel” advice, citing crime and kidnapping.
