4 Americans Missing in Mexico After Being Held at Gunpoint, Kidnapped, FBI Says

Police officers and members of the National Guard as seen in Mexico, in a June 5, 2021 photo. Alan Ortega/Reuters

Four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas are missing after being assaulted and kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, FBI officials said on March 5, noting that a Mexican national was killed in the same incident.

“Unknown assailants” in the northeastern Mexican city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state “violently kidnapped at gunpoint four U.S. citizens in an incident in which an innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement.

Matamoros is located just across the U.S.–Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas.

“We have no greater priority than the safety of our citizens–this is the U.S. government’s most fundamental role,” Salazar said. “U.S. law enforcement officials from numerous agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to secure the safe return of our compatriots.”

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the unidentified kidnap victims and for the arrest of those who were involved, according to a statement from the bureau’s San Antonio office.

The four Americans entered Matamoros in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. The vehicle came under fire soon after it entered Mexico, according to the bureau.

“All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men,” the FBI San Antonio office stated.

The FBI didn’t provide names, descriptions, or other details about the Americans or the minivan; the license plate number wasn’t provided.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed the incident on March 6, telling reporters that “the information we have is that they crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico, there was a confrontation between groups, and they were detained,” and the “whole government is working on it,” according to news reports.

A March 3 post on Twitter appears to show the moment the Americans were held at gunpoint and kidnapped. One woman was seen being forced into a white pickup truck before men clad in what appear to be bulletproof vests and armed with rifles are seen dragging the others into the truck.

Those with information related to the kidnapping are encouraged to contact the FBI’s San Antonio Division or submit a tip online.

Other Alerts

At about the same time, the U.S. consulate in Matamoros issued an alert amid reports of an individual being shot in what appears to be the same incident. It warned U.S. government employees to avoid the area, noting that this area in Mexico is under a “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” which is the highest-level warning issued by the State Department.

Illegal immigrants stand in lines on the U.S. side of the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the United States, in Matamoros, Mexico, on Feb. 26, 2021. Go Nakamura/Reuters

“The U.S. Consulate Matamoros has received reports of police activity occurring in the vicinity of Calle Primera and Lauro Villar in connection to a shooting. Media reports indicate that one individual has been killed. U.S. government employees have been instructed to avoid the area until further notice,” the consulate wrote. “The U.S. Consulate General reminds U.S. citizens that Tamaulipas is classified as Level 4: Do Not Travel in the State Department’s travel advisory for Mexico.”

It advised citizens and employees to be aware of their surroundings, avoid the area, seek shelter if needed, monitor local updates, and review personal security plans or follow the instructions of Mexican officials.

“Organized crime activity—including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, forced disappearances, extortion, and sexual assault—is common along the northern border,” including Tamaulipas, the U.S. Department of State website reads.

On the same day as the kidnappings, police in Matamoros sent out a warning on social media to parents to keep their children at home. They cited two shootings in the city, although not the kidnappings.

Matamoros is notorious for drug cartel violence, according to news reports. The Gulf drug cartel has long been based in Matamoros, according to the Congressional Research Service, which noted that the criminal organization has splintered into warring factions.

“The Gulf [cartel] reportedly has split into several competing gangs,” the agency said in a 2019 report. “Some analysts no longer consider it a whole entity and maintain that it is so fragmented that factions of its original factions are fighting.”

Matamoros also was the site in December 2022 of a large encampment of Haitian and Venezuelan illegal immigrants who were aiming to cross into the United States, according to reports.

“There are thousands of people sleeping on the streets” of Matamoros, said Joshua Rubin, founder of Witness at the Border, according to a Border Report article published at that time.