Shocking video shows moment kidnapped Americans were loaded into pickup truck
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What we covered here
Two of the four Americans who authorities say were kidnapped in Mexico have been found dead, according to the Tamaulipas governor. One of the two survivors was shot three times in the legs, his wife told CNN.
A Mexican woman was also killed by a stray bullet during the kidnapping Friday, the governor said.
The group of friends traveled from South Carolina so one of them — a mother of six — could undergo a medical procedure, two family members told CNN.
Investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official said.
Kidnapping survivor was shot 3 times in the legs, his wife tells CNN
From CNN's Sharif Paget
One of the survivors of the kidnapping of four Americans in the Mexican border city of Matamoros was shot three times in the legs, his wife told CNN.
Michele Williams said she spoke with Eric Williams on the phone Tuesday morning when he was being transported to a hospital in Texas.
Williams is one of two Americans who survived a kidnapping on Friday in Matamoros, Mexico. Two others – Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown – were killed in the incident, which investigators believe was a case of mistaken identity.
Michele Williams said before receiving the call, the FBI stopped by her house at around 11 am local time to tell her about her husband’s condition. Shortly after, her husband called her.
Her husband told her that he was shot twice in one leg and once in the other, Williams said. He is expected to walk, she added.
Her husband was emotional when they spoke on the phone. He viewed the two Americans who did not survive the kidnapping as his “brothers,” she said.
Michele and Eric Williams have an 11-year-old son together. She told CNN her son was happy to hear from his father.
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Mexican president says Mexico and US are cooperating while respecting sovereignty
David Shortell in Mexico City
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday there is cooperation between the US and Mexico following the killing of two Americans in a border city, and that the countries are “working in a coordinated manner with respect to sovereignty.”
The discovery of the Americans’ whereabouts Tuesday came after four friends were abducted at gunpoint in Matamoros on Friday in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
López Obrador noted, though, that “of course, we are not allowing any foreign country to intervene on matters that only relate to Mexicans.”
Mexican sovereignty has been a longstanding talking point for López Obrador, as he’s debated the US on issues including security cooperation.
Later on Tuesday, López Obrador’s handpicked security secretary said at a news conference that Mexican authorities were in “constant communication” with the US authorities, including the US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, as the investigation and search for the kidnapped Americans unfolded.
Investigators believe the Americans were targeted by a Mexican cartel that likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official told CNN.
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Friend of kidnapped Americans first reported disappearance on Saturday, police report shows
From CNN's Andy Rose
The disappearance of four Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico was first reported by a friend who called the police in Brownsville, Texas, on Saturday, a police report shows.
Cheryl Orange called police from a Motel 6 in Brownsville to report that Latavia McGee, Eric Williams and Shaeed Woodard had not been heard from since driving in a rented minivan toward Matamoros, Mexico, on Friday morning, according to police.
Orange said that McGee was planning to have a medical procedure there. Orange told police she had stayed behind in the United States because she did not have an ID with her.
The four had not been answering their cell phones, Orange said in the report. It adds that Brownsville Police checked a local jail to make sure that no one in the party had been taken into custody, but no other action was taken.
McGee, Williams and Woodard – along with a fourth American named Zindell Brown – were kidnapped in Mexico, a US official familiar with the investigation told CNN. Woodard and Brown were found dead and McGee and Williams are being treated in a US hospital.
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US and Mexico need to dismantle cartels as a matter of national security, Texas lawmaker says
US and Mexico officials need to come up with tangible ways to stop drug cartels as a “matter of national security,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez said Tuesday.
The Democrat, whose district borders Matamoros, Mexico, where four kidnapped Americans were found, acknowledged that is it a tricky situation because the country is our second-largest trading partner. However, he said the US should be working with Mexican law enforcement and the military to take out cartels, both financially and physically.
Two of the four kidnapped Americans were killed in what investigators believe was a case of mistaken identity, with a cartel thinking they were Haitian drug smugglers, according to a US official.
Gonzalez said the tragedy was not an isolated incident and that this has been happening across several regions in Mexico for two decades.
“Our neighbor’s home is on fire and they need help putting it out and he [Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador] needs to make profound changes in his criminal justice system to dismantle cartels and stop this from being the norm,” Gonzalez added.
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Police in Texas town across the border from Matamoros say kidnapping "should not define Mexico"
From CNN’s Gloria Pazmino and Norma Galeana
The Brownsville Police Department in Texas, across the border from Matamoros, Mexico –where four Americans were found after being kidnapped – said the tragic incident “should not define Mexico as a whole.”
Matamoros is just like US cities in that it has “its bad locations and it has its good locations,” Public Information Officer Martin Sandoval said.
Kidnappings do not happen frequently despite public belief, Sandoval said. The last major case the city had was in the late 1980s, he said.
The police department recommends that Americans remain in the US.
But if people do decide to cross into Mexico, Sandoval encouraged them to follow federal guidelines, which include having a full tank of gas, staying as close as possible to the port of entry, going with a group of people and having a GPS, he said.
“There are hundreds of people that go through the bridge daily,” Sandoval said, referring to the crossing to Matamoros. And some people are more apprehensive after this kidnapping, but it’s likely that some people will continue to cross, he added.
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2 Americans who survived kidnapping in Mexico now being treated at US hospital, FBI says
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Andy Rose
Latavia Washington McGee, left, and Eric Williams, right.
(From Facebook/From Michele Williams)
The two Americans who survived a kidnapping last week in Matamoros, Mexico, are now being treated at a hospital in the United States, the FBI said Tuesday.
“One of the surviving victims sustained serious injuries during the attack,” the bureau said in a written statement.
The Mexican government said earlier that Eric Williams was shot in the leg. The other surviving victim was identified as Latavia Washington McGee.
Two other Americans who were kidnapped in Matamoros were found dead. A US official familiar with the ongoing investigation identified them to CNN as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown.
“This is still an ongoing criminal investigation and the FBI will continue to work with State, HSI, DEA, and other federal and international partners to determine the facts of what happened and to hold those responsible for this horrific and violent attack accountable for their crimes,” the FBI said.
CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed to this report.
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Mexican woman killed by stray bullet during kidnapping of Americans, Tamaulipas governor says
David Shortell in Mexico City
A Mexican woman was fatally shot during the kidnapping of four Americans in Tamaulipas on Friday, Governor Américo Villarreal said on Tuesday.
The woman, who was not identified, was hit by a stray bullet almost a block and a half away from where the Americans were taken, the governor of Tamaulipas said.
Authorities at first thought the woman was killed in a separate unrelated incident, he added.
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Officials won't say if person detained in Mexico kidnapping is part of a criminal organization
From CNN's David Shortell in Mexico City
Officials in Mexico would not confirm Tuesday whether the person detained in relation to the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico is related to a criminal organization. However, the Gulf Cartel is known to operate in the region, according to Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica.
Barrios would not share the number of people authorities believed to be involved in the kidnapping.
The four Americans who went missing crossed the international bridge into Matamoros, Mexico, at 9:18 a.m. local time on Friday, governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, said Tuesday.
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US State Department spokesperson calls for accountability following kidnapping
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price answers the questions of the press during the daily press briefing at the State Department in Washington D.C., on January 9.
(Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called for accountability in regard to the four Americans who were kidnapped by armed gunmen in a Mexico border city on Friday, but would not go into details about what that looks like.
Price did not rule out designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations – something that some Republican lawmakers have called for. Price noted that “we are always going to look at every tool.”
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US law enforcement was not on the ground in Mexico in search for missing Americans, official says
From CNN's David Shortell
United States law enforcement was not involved on the ground in Mexico during the search for missing Americans, the governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, said. Tamaulipas is where the kidnapping took place.
Mexican officials displayed a timeline of the search for the Americans, including photos of the cars believed to be used by the kidnappers, before they were found Tuesday morning.
Mexico’s Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodríguez said authorities in Mexico have been in constant communication with the US ambassador and other US officials since Sunday.
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Kidnapping survivors and deceased victims identified
From CNN’s Josh Campbell
The two Americans who authorities say were kidnapped in Mexico and found dead have been identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, a US official familiar with the ongoing investigation tells CNN.
Their bodies will be examined by Mexican authorities before their remains are turned over to the US government, the source said.
The two survivors have been identified as Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams, according to the source. The pair was taken to a Texas hospital for treatment and observation.
The Americans’ families have been notified, the official indicated.
The Mexican government said at a press conference that Washington McGee was found uninjured and Williams suffered a bullet wound to the leg.
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1 detained in connection to Americans killed in Mexico
From CNN’s Abel Alvarado
At least one person has been detained in connection to the death of two American citizens, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said.
The person was identified as a 24-year-old, according to the governor. He was undertaking “surveillance functions of the victims,” he added.
The four kidnapped Americans were found in a “wooden house” outside Matamoros, Mexico. Two of them were alive and two were dead, the governor said.
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Mexican official describes what happened after Americans were kidnapped
Mexican officials hold a press conference on March 7.
(CNN)
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica described the steps taken by Mexican law enforcement and investigators after four Americans were kidnapped on Friday.
At a news conference Tuesday, speaking through a translator, Barrios Mojica said the Americans were driving a white minivan when a pickup truck pulled up, and armed men loaded them into the back of the truck.
At that point “protocols were activated” and Mexican authorities started communications with the United States when they noticed the mini van’s license place was from the US. Barrios Mojica said the information that they were American citizens wasn’t verified right away until US officials ran the license plate.
Barrios Mojica said police were also able to identify the pickup truck. With all of this information, officials started “several searches” with various different agencies, he said.
On Tuesday about 8 a.m. local time, Barrios Mojica said officials found the four Americans — two alive and two dead — at a house outside Matamoros. One of the survivors was shot in the leg, he said.
Barrios Mojica said police detained one person at the house.
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Here's what we know about the 4 Americans kidnapped in Mexico
From CNN staff
A Mexican Red Cross ambulance transports two Americans found alive after their abduction in Mexico last week, in Ejido Longoreno, on the outskirts of Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, March 7.
(AP)
Two of the four Americans who authorities say were kidnapped in Mexico have been found dead, according to the Tamaulipas governor. The two surviving Americans are now in the care of the FBI and have returned to the United States, an official familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
Investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official said.
Here’s what we know so far:
Where things stand: The two people who survived will receive medical attention and observations at a hospital in Texas, according to a source. One of the people who survived was severely injured. The bodies of the two others killed will be examined by Mexican authorities before the remains are turned over to the US government, a source said.
What happened: The group of friends traveled from South Carolina so one of them — a mother of six — could undergo a medical procedure across the border, according to two family members. A friend said the group got lost on the way to the doctor’s office. They were “placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men” in the border city of Matamoros on Friday, according to the FBI. Investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official said.
What we know about the Americans: Latavia “Tay” Washington McGee drove to Mexico with Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and their friend Eric Williams, according to Washington McGee’s mother Barbara Burgess. This was the second time Washington McGee had gone to Mexico for a medical procedure, her mother said. The group grew up together in South Carolina and were bonded “like glue,” Brown’s sister Zalandria Brown told CNN. She added that she and her brother are also close.
US response: Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was briefed by the FBI on the kidnapping and the Justice Department is “working closely” with the US State Department on the case. The White House said it is working with the Mexican government to learn more about the incident. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said administration officials were in touch with family members.
Coming up: Mexican officials are expected to give an update at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
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US working with Mexican government to "ensure justice is done"
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
The White House said it is still working with Mexican officials to learn more about the deaths of two American citizens who were kidnapped and killed this week.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said senior White House officials were engaged on the matter and President Joe Biden was updated. She said the US was still working with Mexican officials to have “all Americans returned to the United States.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends,” Jean-Pierre said. “For the sake of privacy and out of respect to the families, we are going to refrain from further comment about those circumstances at this time.”
She said administration officials were in touch with family members of the Americans kidnapped in Mexico, two of whom are dead, according to Mexican authorities.
Jean-Pierre said US agencies, including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Administration, were working on the situation in coordination with their Mexican counterparts.
She noted previous administration efforts to disrupt transnational crime syndicates, including Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers.
“We remain committed to applying the full weight of our efforts and resources to counter them,” she said. “Right now our immediate concerns are for the safe return of our citizens, the health and well-being of those who survived this attack, and the support which must be rendered to the families of those who need it.”
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Kidnapped Americans got lost while trying to find their way to the doctor's office, friend says
From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado
Latavia “Tay” Washington McGee, 33, who drove to Mexico with Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric Williams got lost while trying to locate the medical clinic they were heading to, Washington McGee’s close friend who did not want to be identified told CNN.
According to Washington McGee’s friend, the group of friends got lost and reached out to the doctor’s office for directions on Friday but were struggling to communicate with the doctor’s office because they had poor cellphone signal.
The friend said she reached out to the doctor’s office on Saturday for more information after she became concerned.
“When I reached out to the doctor’s office they told me that Latavia had reached out to them to ask them for directions because she was lost,” the friend said. “They sent me a screenshot of the messages and they said they sent her the address and asked her if she was using a GPS.”
She also said that the office employee she spoke with told her that Washington McGee also messaged the doctor’s office from her friend’s phone, but the office employee didn’t notice the message until a few hours later.
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Surviving Americans have returned to the United States
From CNN’s Josh Campbell
The two surviving American citizens kidnapped in Mexico are now in the care of the FBI and have returned to the United States, an official familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
The two will receive medical treatment and observations at a hospital in Texas, the source added.
The bodies of the two people who were killed will be examined by Mexican authorities before the remains are turned over to the US government, a source said.
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Justice Department working closely with State Department on kidnapped Americans
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz
The Justice Department is “working closely” with the US State Department on the kidnapping of four Americans in northeastern Mexico last week, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Garland said Tuesday that he has been briefed with the FBI “and senior department officials are working closely with our counterparts at the State Department.”
Two of the four kidnapped Americans were found dead and two were found alive, Mexican officials said Tuesday. A US official familiar with the case previously told CNN that investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers and that the Americans are believed to have been targeted by mistake.
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Bodies of dead kidnapped Americans to be examined in Mexico before being repatriated to US, source says
From CNN’s Josh Campbell
The bodies of two American citizens killed in an attack by suspected Mexican cartel members will be examined by Mexican authorities prior to their remains being turned over to the US government, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
After a coroner in Mexico completes a forensic examination to determine the cause of death, the remains are expected to be promptly repatriated back to the United States, the source said.
Two of the four Americans kidnapped in the border city of Matamoros were found alive, with one severely injured, according to a US official familiar with the ongoing investigation.
