Two kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, two more alive

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico last week when their van was caught in a shootout have been found dead, a senior Mexican official said Tuesday. Two more were found alive, one wounded.

Tamaulipas state governor América Villarreal did not provide details on the extent of the injured man’s injuries, saying that “ambulances and the rest of the security services will now provide appropriate support.” The governor offered no further information on where or how the US citizens were found.

The FBI said Sunday it is working with Mexican authorities to search for the missing Americans who were kidnapped Friday. A relative of one of them said Monday that they had driven together from South Carolina so one of them could get a tummy tuck at a doctor in the border town of Matamoras, across from Brownsville, Texas.

Shortly after entering Mexico, they were caught in the middle of fighting between rival cartel factions in the city. The video shows armed men loading them into the back of a pickup truck. A Mexican woman was killed in a shootout Friday, officials said.

Villarreal confirmed the death by phone during a morning news conference with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, saying details about the four kidnapped Americans had been confirmed by prosecutors.

López Abrador said one suspect is in custody.

The president of Mexico has complained about the US media’s coverage of missing Americans, accusing them of sensationalism. “It’s not like when they kill Mexicans in the United States, they are as silent as mummies.”

“It’s a shame, they (the US government) have a right to protest, as they do,” he said. “We are very sorry that this is happening in our country.”

The kidnapping illustrates the terror that has reigned for years in Matamoras, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel, which often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in the state of Tamaulipas alone.

The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and the arrest of the kidnappers.