Mexico: two of the four Americans kidnapped in the northeast found dead
Mexican Navy Secretary Jose Rafael Ojeda during a press conference on the kidnapping of four US citizens, two of whom were killed, in the state of Tamaulipas.
National Palace in Mexico City, March 7, 2023. AFP - -
Text by: RFI Follow
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Bad news has reached us from Mexico about four Americans who were kidnapped on Friday March 3 in the north of the country.
Two of them were found dead, the governor of Tamaulipas state announced.
“
One is injured and the other is alive
,” he also said of the other two.
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Two of the four Americans, whose identity has not been revealed, but who had been abducted by armed men on Friday in Matamoros, a city in northeastern Mexico on the border with the United States, were found dead this Tuesday, March 7, Tamaulipas State Governor Americo Villarreal announced.
“
This has been confirmed by the prosecution.
Of the four (Americans), two died
,” he said by phone during Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s morning press conference.
Mr Villarreal did not say where the hostages were found.
The operations deployed by the Mexican authorities, in coordination with American intelligence agencies, have extended to a vast area of Tamaulipas, of which Matamoros is a part.
“
The ambulances and the rest of the security personnel will now provide the necessary support for the transfer and any medical assistance that may be required
,” he explained.
“
We are sorry that this is happening in our country and we send our condolences to the families of the victims, to their friends, to the people of the United States, to the government of the United States,” Mr. Lopez Obrador said after the confirmation of
the death.
“
Work closely with the Mexican government
”
US authorities will "
work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done
," said John Kirby, White House spokesman for national security issues.
Attacks on American citizens are "
unacceptable
", said John Kirby, who sent his "
deepest condolences
" to the relatives of the two people killed.
The US Federal Police (FBI) had offered a $50,000 reward for any assistance in freeing the hostages and apprehending the suspects.
The four nationals had crossed Matamoros at the wheel of a white mini van registered in North Carolina, before being targeted by shots, then kidnapped.
A Mexican woman was killed in the crossfire, Mexican authorities said on Monday.
According to the Mexican president, the victims would have traveled to Mexico to buy medicine.
The border town of Matomoros is plagued by violence linked to drug trafficking and organized crime.
The roads in the Tamaulipas region are considered the most dangerous in the country, precisely because of the risk of kidnapping and extortion by criminal groups.
It was recalled this Tuesday, the US State Department advises against travel to the region.
(
With
AFP)
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Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
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