Two Americans who were kidnapped during a “tummy tuck” trip to Mexico last week have been found dead.
The group was taken hostage on Friday after entering the state of Tamaulipas in Matamoros – an area dominated by the Gulf cartel. The Americans, who had driven from South Carolina, came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck.
Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal revealed on a call during a Tuesday morning press conference with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that two of the victims had been killed. Another person was found wounded while a fourth individual was unharmed.
The victims were identified on Monday as Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, who travelled from South Carolina. The names of the deceased individuals have not been revealed.
One person has been arrested and the FBI continues to work along with Mexican authorities in the case, Mr López Obrador said.
Before the tragic news on Tuesday, McGee’s mother told the AP that her daughter had travelled to Mexico to get a tummy tuck. Her three friends had decided to tag along to help with driving duties, she said.
An unnamed state authority told the Associated Press that the missing American citizens were found in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Longoreño on the way to the local beach known as Playa Baghdad.
Investigators reportedly received word of the victims’ location before dawn on Tuesday. Ambulance crews were sent to assist the surviving victims, according to Mr Villareal.
“We continue to work every day towards peace and are very sorry that this has happened in our country,” President López Obrador said during the press conference.
“We send our condolences to the victims’ friends and family and the American people. And we will continue to work towards peace.”
Mr Lopez Obrador also claimed that the tragedy will be seized by the American media to portray Mexico as a dangerous country, in stark contrast with their “silence when Mexicans are killed in the US.” He went on to say that GOP politicians will also use the crime as an opportunity to push “their agenda.”
The deaths were also confirmed by Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica, who said more information will be released at a later time.
Denial of responsibility! insideheadline is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
