According to the attorney general of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, five persons have been detained in connection with recent kidnappings and deaths of Americans along the US-Mexico border.
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica confirmed the arrests of five suspects "linked" to the March 3 incident in Matamoros "for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping and intentional simple homicide," in a statement on Twitter. He also mentioned another person who was recently arrested as being linked to the kidnappings and murders.
Mojica said in a subsequent statement Thursday night that five automobiles, including a Lamborghini model stolen in the United States, were found in Matamoros as part of police investigation. Earlier this week, authorities announced the arrest of one suspect who was protecting the victims on the city's outskirts.
According to police, two Americans and a Mexican lady were murdered after an assailant opened fire on the four Americans after they landed in Matamoros, which is located just south of the border from Brownsville, Texas. The remains of two dead Americans, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were handed over to US authorities on Thursday, according to sources.
Americo Villarreal, the governor of Tamaulipas, had stated at a press conference that a lady and a man escaped the event. Eric Williams and LaTavia Washington McGee were recognized. The four Americans apparently flew from the Carolinas to Mexico for cosmetic surgery.
According to The Associated Press and CNN, the arrests occurred as a drug gang reportedly engaged in the kidnapping apologized for the event. Last week, a claimed handwritten message from the cartel was put in a public spot in Matamoros, while the Associated Press reported that a state law enforcement official apologized to the newswire agency.
According to a statement, the Americans informed detectives they were carried to the clinic in an ambulance to obtain first assistance. Authorities were able to identify the ambulance and locate the clinic by studying police surveillance video from across the city. According to the statement, no arrests were made at the facility.
Meanwhile, the FBI and the U.S. The Department of State has warned Americans to avoid visiting to Mexico, particularly specific states on the State Department's "Level 4 - Do Not Travel" list owing to the high danger of kidnappings and violence.
