Two of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico were found dead, while the other two were rescued alive, authorities announced Tuesday.
The four Americans arrived Friday morning in Matamoros, Mexico, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, south of Brownsville, Texas.
“Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired at the passengers of the vehicle,” the US embassy in Mexico City said. The Americans had been traveling in a white minivan.
“The armed men put the four US citizens into another vehicle and fled,” the embassy said.
The Americans were not directly attacked, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios said at a press conference. “It seems that it was a misunderstanding,” he said.
Mexican investigators believe the kidnappers may have mistakenly believed they were rival human traffickers, a source close to the investigation said.
The two survivors were found Tuesday morning in a wooden house in the Lagunona area, on the outskirts of Matamoros, Mexican officials said.
One had a gunshot wound to the leg, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said.
During the three days they were held, they were taken to various places, including a clinic, in order to create confusion and avoid rescue efforts, Villarreal said.
One person has been arrested. The 24-year-old suspect was in charge of caring for the victims inside the house where they were found, Mexican authorities said.
The bodies of the two murdered Americans will be transferred to the United States today. The State Department is in the process of repatriating the two victims, spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday afternoon. “We thank our Mexican and US law enforcement partners for their efforts to find these innocent victims and the task ahead is to ensure that justice is done,” he stressed.
For his part, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday: “We offer our deepest condolences to friends and family of those killed in these attacks.”
President Joe Biden “has been keeping up to date” on the situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday, adding that US officials are in contact with the families.
The two survivors, Eric James Williams and Latavia McGee, have returned to the United States, their families said.
