After the kidnapping of four Americans, the FBI is taking a major step forward in their investigation of the disappearance of a fifth American in Mexico.
Following the kidnapping of four other Americans, the FBI expanded its investigation into Mexico, and now another American has vanished there.
The FBI has announced a sizable reward for any information leading to the safe return of Maria del Carmen Lopez, 63.
6
6
According to Mercury News, Lopez has been missing since she was kidnapped from her home in Mexico over a month ago.
According to a statement released by the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, the 63-year-old was abducted from her home on February 9 in Pueblo Nuevo, a municipality in the Mexican state of Colima located in the country’s southwestern region.
Colima’s Attorney General’s office confirmed that Lopez held dual Mexican citizenship and promised to assist the FBI in their search for her.
The FBI didn’t reveal much about the investigation.
For those keeping an eye out, they said Lopez had blonde hair, brown eyes, and eyeliner tattoos.
Given the $20,000 reward, the FBI is presumably hoping that more people will come forward.
Both cases are concerning because they follow the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico.
Not to mention, only two survived the ordeal.
CARTEL CHAOS
As The U.S. According to a previous report by the Sun, four American tourists were kidnapped on March 3 after they drove into Matamoros, a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
Those taken included Latavia “Tay” McGee, her cousin Shaeed Woodard, and their friends Eric James Williams and Zindell Brown.
Zalandria Brown told the FBI that her brother, along with two other friends, had gone to get a “tummy tuck” done on one of their mutual friends.
After driving a white minivan with North Carolina license plates into Matamoros, things quickly went downhill for the travelers.
U.S. investigators have concluded that Mexican drug cartels fired on the Americans because they thought they were Haitian drug smugglers. CNN cited official sources saying.
According to reports, the “Gulf Cartel” is Matamaros’s most powerful drug cartel.
Hostages since March 7, when U.S. and Mexican authorities located them in a remote shack.
Although McGee and Williams made it through the gunfight unscathed, Woodard and Brown did not.
Williams was shot multiple times in the legs, but it was reported that none of the wounds were serious enough to threaten his life.
Later, Mexican authorities discovered bound and beaten suspects with an apology note for the cartel’s members’ violence.
A quote from the letter reads, “We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision and lack of discipline.”
It went on to say that by opening fire, the cartel gunmen had violated the organization’s “rules,” which included “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent.”
Those involved beseeched the “American families and people in Matamoros for forgiveness.”
You can find related information at the United States page. The disappearance of three Texan women in Mexico has been covered by the Sun.
The U.S. The Sun also reports that U.S. officials have issued a spring break warning for Mexico, stating that the country is “too dangerous” to visit because of the presence of drug cartels.
6
6
6
6
