Mexican authorities confirmed the discovery of the four people from the United States kidnapped on Friday, March 3 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. two of them died, while the other two were found alive; however, one remains injured.
During the morning presidential conference on Tuesday, March 7, the governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, said in a phone call that was confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office state the discovery of the Americans and added that ambulances and security personnel were moving to the place where they were located to provide support.
The Tamaulipas prosecutor, Irving Barrios Mojica, published on Twitter that “state and federal corporations, with personnel from the US Consulate (United States of America) in Matamoros They handed over 2 citizens of that country on an international bridge, located today after they were deprived of their liberty.”
This is not the first time that people from the United States are victims of violence in Mexico. In recent decades, various scandals have occurred that linked organized crime and murders or attacks against foreigners.
Violence against Americans in Mexico: These are the most notorious cases
This is a case count of violence against Americans in Mexico promoted by organized crime:
Enrique “Kiki” Camarena (1985)
Enrique Camarena, known as ‘Kiki’, was an agent of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 1985 by members of the Guadalajara Cartel, presumably on the orders of Rafael Caro Quintero.
Enrique Camarena was kidnapped on February 7, 1985 in Guadalajara, two days later he was assassinated by former judicial police officers who were following the orders of a group of drug traffickers headed by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo ‘Don Neto’ and Rafael Caro Quinteromembers of the extinct Guadalajara Cartel.
Camarena was a DEA undercover agent in Mexico, and was monitoring the movements of the criminal organization. The death of the US agent is believed to have occurred on February 9. His body was discovered on March 5, 1985. He was 37 years old at the time of his death.
John Clay Walker and Albert G. Radelat (1985)
Occurred in the restaurant crazy lobster in Jalisco, since the two Americans were looking for a place to have dinner, and according to the journalist Anabel Hernández, a party for Caro Quintero was taking place there, in which Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was also present.
According to the journalist, they were leaving, when ‘El Chapo’ shouted: “Those speak English, they are from the DEA”. Caro Quintero said his key word, which sentenced those two men to death: “Cockroach” and immediately the bosses ran after them to torture them.
“The greatest fury came from Caro Quintero and Guzman Loera, who ended up attacking the visitors with an ice pick. Walker, badly wounded, made a last effort to escape, but El Chapo decapitated him, ”it is related in one of his books.
Attack on agents Jaime Zapata and Víctor Ávila (2011)
In February 2011, two United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were attacked by elements of the Los Zetas cartel.
Jaime Zapata was killed, while Víctor Ávila was seriously wounded. “This case serves as a reminder that if you harm a federal agentthe United States Government will search for him to the ends of the earth to ensure that he is brought to justice,” said the United States government 6 years later, when life imprisonment was declared against his attackers.
LeBaron Family (2019)
In November 2019, the murder of nine members of the LeBaron family was reported, all women and children, presumably for organized crimein Bavispe, Sonora.
the massacre even strained relations between Mexico and the United Statessince the request arose to consider the Mexican cartels as “terrorists” by the then US president, Donald Trump.
The LeBaron family, which has been in Mexico since 1924, has been the victim of multiple kidnappings; however, are characterized by their way of denouncing violence and the mobilizations to demand justice before paying ransoms.
The murder of the LeBarons moved thousands of Mexicans who went out to march to demand justice, and to date there are dozens of detainees.
Kidnapping of Americans in Matamoros (2023)
Similar to the case of the LeBaron family, the kidnapping of four Americans is an attack on civilians, who were kidnapped on Friday, March 3 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, according to the FBI.
Days later, the government of Mexico and the United States, as well as elements of the Army, They did an exhaustive search to find the victims. of which two died.
One of the first versions is that the Americans crossed into Mexico for the purpose of undergoing cosmetic surgery.
The victims have already been handed over to the United States authorities.and for the moment one person is reported detained after the operation.
In Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Clashes between the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel are commonsince both fight for the area.
With information from AP.
