Mexican authorities announced on Tuesday that two U.S. citizens who were abducted last week in Matamoros have been found dead, while two others have been discovered alive. One of the surviving individuals was injured, while the other was unharmed, according to Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal.
The deceased were identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown. The two who survived are Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams.
The FBI had been working alongside Mexican authorities in the search for the missing Americans, who were abducted on Friday.
A family member of one of the victims revealed on Monday that they had traveled together from South Carolina so that one of them could undergo a tummy tuck surgery with a Matamoros-based doctor.
As they entered Mexico, they were caught in the crossfire between rival cartel groups, and a video later surfaced showing them being forced into the back of a pickup truck by armed gunmen.
Mexican officials have confirmed that a Mexican woman was also killed in the shooting.
“We want to see accountability for the violence that has been inflicted on these Americans that tragically led to the death of two of them,” said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “When it comes to the drug cartels, we’re going to do what is most effective to limit their ability to traffic in their wares. This is something that our colleagues at the DEA are extremely focused on. We have laws on the books, we have designated these criminal organizations, these drug trafficking organizations, consistent with the authorities that we as a government have.”
