Four U.S. citizens were kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico, according to authorities. The group had crossed into Matamoros to buy medicine, officials said.
A massive search is underway after four U.S. citizens were attacked and kidnapped by gunmen on Friday in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, authorities said.
The group was in a white van with North Carolina plates and had crossed into Mexico at the Brownsville, Texas, border station. They had driven to Matamoros to buy medicine, officials said.
Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday the Americans ended up in the crossfire of two armed groups. Video on social medial apparently captured the attack, and showed gunmen in flack vests forcing a woman into the back of a white pickup truck.
The apparent attackers dragged three others, who appeared to be hurt, onto the truck and then drove away.
The FBI has ordered the return of the Americans and offered a $50,000 reward.
Matamoros is home to warring factions of the Gulf cartel, and the site of numerous gunfights and kidnappings, authorities said. Because of soaring violence in the area, the city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas is on the U.S. State Department's list of no-travel destinations for Americans.
“Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments,” says the State Department warning.
Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday the Americans were kidnapped at gunpoint and an "innocent" Mexican citizen died in the attack. He said several U.S. agencies were working with their Mexican counterparts to find the victims.
“We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens,” Salazar said. “This is the most fundamental role of the US government."
The kidnapped Americans have not been identified.
