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Two of four Americans kidnapped in Mexico are dead
Two Americans kidnapped at gunpoint at the US-Mexico border by ‘Gulf Cartel’ have been found dead while two others have been located alive – but one wounded.
Latavia ‘Tay’ McGee, her cousin Shaeed Woodard and their friends Zindell Brown and Eric Williams were said to be traveling south so McGee could get a budget tummy tuck when they got caught in gunfire between two gangs.
The Governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal Anaya, confirmed the condition of the four Americans over a phone call during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s press conference on Tuesday.
The Tamaulipas State Attorney General’s Office said that the four American citizens ‘deprived of their liberty last Friday’ were found at about 7.30 am Tuesday.
‘Unfortunately two are dead. Investigation and intelligence work continues to capture those responsible. Details will be given later.’
Governor Américo Villarreal said that there has been close attention on the incident and medical support is being provided to the surviving victims.
The Governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal Anaya, confirmed the condition of four kidnapped Americans over a phone call during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s press conference on Tuesday. Two are dead, two alive – one wounded
Governor Américo Villarreal said that there has been close attention on the incident and medical support is being provided to the surviving victims
‘Following your joint work instructions, we have not stopped paying attention to this problem since Friday and approximately an hour ago today we were notified that there were indications of having seen the four American citizens and 35 minutes ago it was fully confirmed by the prosecutor.
‘Of the four, two of them are deceased, one person injured and the other is alive.
‘The the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are on their way go to give the corresponding support for the transfer and the medical support that can be (given).’
The four Americans were kidnapped in Mexico after traveling over the border so that one could get a cut-price tummy tuck.
It believed they were kidnapped by members of the Gulf Cartel, a notoriously violent gang run by a feared leader known as La Kena.
Mexican newspaper Milenio cites law enforcement officials who say they are actively investigating whether La Kena was involved in the capture of Latavia ‘Tay’ McGee, her cousin Shaeed Woodard and their friends Zindell Brown and Eric Williams.
They had traveled from Lake City, South Carolina to the border town of Matamoros for McGee to undergo a discounted tummy tuck, according to a sister of one of the kidnapped, when they got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight on Friday.
It remains unclear out of the four who has survived and who has been brutally murdered. Details of the murders are also unclear at this time.
Video shows the group being thrown in the back of a van. Their whereabouts is now unknown.
Matamoros is in the state of Tamaupilas, which is among six states that are currently under travel warnings.
Latavia ‘Tay’ McGee had traveled down to Mexico on Wednesday for a tummy tuck procedure before she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a drug cartel on Friday
McGee was joined by her cousin, Shaeed Woodard, (left) and friends Eric Williams (right) and Zindell Brown
They were taken on Friday, after becoming caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between two gangs.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the US authorities ought to treat the gangs the same way they do ISIS when negotiating for Americans’ release.
La Kena or Ciclon 19, the leader of the Gulf Cartel
‘They are terrorists,’ he said during an appearance on Fox News last night.
‘The Mexican government is being held hostage by tens of thousands of paramilitary members of terrorist organizations that effectively control Mexico.
‘It’s pretty close at this stage to a failed narco-state.
‘They can use violence and oceans of cash to corrupt the government. The government has no will, and it doesn’t have the ability to deal with the cartels,’ he said.
Le Kena leads the Gulf Cartel and is also known as Ciclon 19. His real name is Alberto García Vilano.
Mexican authorities have been hunting him for months and are offering a reward of 2.5million pesos for any information that could lead to his arrest.
Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said on Monday she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell, is one of the four victims.
A gunman acted as a lookout for his cohorts moments after they attacked a mini van with four American occupants and kidnapped them in the northeastern Mexican border city of Matamoros on Friday
A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the US State Department currently has listed under its most severe ‘do not travel’ category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists
Mexican authorities are seen here investigating the white SUV McGee and her friends drove to the country in
‘This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,’ she said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. ‘To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.’
Zalandria said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied McGee who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery.
She said the group was extremely close and that they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties.
They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, Zalandria noted, and her brother had even expressed some misgivings before the trip.
