At 0000 EST, the U.S. State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that four U.S. nationals had been kidnapped in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The official State Department message reads below:
“On March 3, 2023, four United States citizens crossed into Matamoros, Tamaulipas in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen shot the passengers off the vehicle. The gunmen herded the four US citizens into another vehicle and fled the scene with them.”
The FBI is offering a 50,000 USD for information resulting in the return of the U.S. persons or the capture of those responsible. The officials message from the FBI reads below:
The video below purports to show the scene where members of the Gulf Cartel hauled away what appears to be the U.S. nationals in the back of a pickup truck after exchanging gunfire with them in Matamoros. Locals claimed that the U.S. nationals were in the city committing some sort of criminal activity, but this has not been confirmed. It is unclear why the U.S. persons crossed into Mexico and the U.S. government has so far declined to clarify.
