Mexico kidnappings: What we know about the abduction of four Americans in Matamoros

The FBI has launched an appeal for information after four American citizens were ambushed and kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico on Friday 3 March.

An investigation involving the FBI, federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies is currently underway to find them.

Oliver Rich, special agent in charge of the San Antonio Division of the FBI, said in a press release that the bureau is seeking the public’s help in identifying the assailants.

A reward of $50,000 is being offered for tip-offs leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of their captors.

Details regarding the incident are currently sparse but here is everything we do know so far.

Ambushed on arrival from Texas

According to the US Embassy & Consulates in Mexico, the group had crossed into the north eastern state of Tamaulipas on the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas, driving a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates.

Shortly after they had entered the country, they were attacked by gunmen in the border city of Matamoros.

After firing on the van, the attackers then moved the passengers to another vehicle and drove them away from the scene, the embassy said.

On Monday, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the group were in the country looking to buy medicine.

“The information we have is that they crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico, there was a confrontation between groups and they were detained,” the president said. “The whole government is working on it.”

An unnamed US official said the four Americans were not the intended targets and they had traveled to Matamoros for medical procedures.

Video purports to show attack

A video widely shared on social media, allegedly filmed in the city on Friday, shows people being dragged and dumped into the rear of a white flatbed truck parked in the middle of a busy street by armed men wearing bulletproof jackets.

The video has not been officially verified and the FBI has made no public comment on it.

Matamoros is notorious as a centre for gang violence and illegal migrant smuggling and is dominated by the Gulf drug cartel.

Tamaulipas state police said on its social media channel that people had been killed and injured in two shootouts in Matamoros on Friday in which neither the military nor police had been involved but did not offer any further detail on the shootings or say whether the kidnappings were connected.

“There have been two armed incidents between unidentified civilians,” it said. “The exact number of the fallen is being corroborated.”

Photographs of the abandoned car, with visible bullet holes, have since been released.

Victims identified

The Americans involved have now been identified by their loved ones as Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard, Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric James Williams, all of whom are from South Carolina. The latter’s North Carolina driving licence was reportedly found at the scene.

Christina Hickson, the mother of Mr Brown, told WPDE that her son had gone on the trip to support a friend having a medical procedure in Mexico and said she recognised him in footage of the shocking incident.

“I knew immediately that was him. And you know even when I watch them placing them on the back of the truck. I was able to follow each one as they would be placed on the truck,” Ms Hickson said.

“The waiting is the worse part. It has its advantages and disadvantages. But, however, no news is good news. That’s the way I’m staying with it. No news is good news and that’s what will give me the audacity to.”

Mr Brown’s sister Zalandria Brown told the Associated Press: “This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from.”

Barbara Burgess, 54, Ms McGee’s mother, told ABC News that it was her daughter who was visiting Mexico for a tummy tuck procedure and that she had warned her not go but she insisted that she would be okay.

US officials have not yet formally identified the four, however.

Official response

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday evening that the Biden administration is “closely following the assault and kidnapping” and added: “Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”

Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, revealed in a statement that an innocent Mexican bystander had also been killed in the incident and declared: “We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens. This is the most fundamental role of the US government.”

He tweeted that the embassy is working with the Mexican authorities to secure the release of the Americans.

Less measured in responding was Republican populist congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called for retailiatory military action against the drug cartels, who she said were “terrorists”, comparing them to Isis and, absurdly, Antifa.

Americans advised against travelling

The US State Department has advised Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping, with the region featuring on its “Level 4: Do Not Travel” list.

The US Consulate in Matamoros issued a warning to its employees on Friday in response to the latest outbreak of violence.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 or to submit tips anonymously online here.