Mexican Authorities Arrest One Suspect Involved in Kidnapping of Four Americans; Two Surviving Victims are Back in the US

Mexican officials said Tuesday that a suspect involved in the kidnapping and killings of American citizens in Matamoros has been arrested.

Authorities said the 24-year-old, identified only as Jose N, was in charge of looking after the victims inside the house located just outside of Matamoros where they were found.

The four Americans, Eric James Williams, Latavia “Tay” McGee, Zindell Brown and McGee’s cousin Shaeed Woodard, crossed the border in northeastern Mexico on Friday as one of them was preparing for a medical procedure. A Mexican cartel kidnaped them shortly after crossing into Matamoros, which is in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas just south of Brownsville, Texas.

It’s believed they were mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed in Tuesday’s briefing that the surviving victims–Williams and McGee–have returned to U.S. soil. He added that the government is “in the process of working to repatriate the remains of the two Americans who were killed in this incident.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spoke out early Tuesday, offering his sympathies to the victims.

“We are very sorry that this happened in our country, and we send our condolences to the families of the victims, friends, and the United States government, and we will continue doing our work to guarantee peace and tranquility.”