A man who Mexican authorities believe is connected to the recent kidnapping of four Americans has been arrested. According to reports, 24-year-old Jose Guadalupe N. was detained on Tuesday by law enforcement officers who say the accused criminal was responsible for guarding the house where the U.S. citizens, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, Eric James Williams, and Latavia “Tay” McGee were being held and tortured by a group of cartel members before Woodard and Brown were tragically killed.
So far, there’s been no mention of whether Guadalupe is actually tied to the Gulf Cartel clan or whether he was personally hired to carry out a specific job for them, but police say they have reason to believe he assisted them to make sure the Americans were watched at all times during the scary ordeal. As we previously reported, the four victims were captured on Friday in Matamoros, Tamaulipas after having crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas.
Black people be careful when you travel to Mexico. I was planning on going to visit there in the summer, but I change my mind.4 black Americans was kidnap two was murdered .pic.twitter.com/EiHhVgPoRm
— Black diaspora Voice. (@BlackdiasporaV1) March 8, 2023
According to BBC News, the city in Mexico is known for being one of the most dangerous parts of the country, as well as the state of Tamaulipas which is largely dominated and controlled by cartel members who the publication notes sometimes have more authority than the police themselves.
The four victims made the trip to cross the border and enter Mexico in their white minivan, with McGee’s mother telling ABC News that her daughter, who is originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had planned to get a tummy tuck and was being accompanied by her cousin, Woodard, and two friends on the journey.
US officials believe that the Americans had been mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers as gunshots went off when the cartel members came in contact with them. They were reportedly tortured for three days before being discovered in a rural area in Ejido Longoreńo, near a beach known as Playa Baghdad.
Mexican investigators were notified on Tuesday about the possible whereabouts of their location as paramedics were additionally sent out to aid the victims who had survived the attack. “We continue to work every day towards peace and are very sorry that this has happened in our country,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a press conference held on Tuesday.
Number one rule going to Mexico, NEVER drive with a USA license plates. They will steal and kidnap you. https://t.co/H7Gg53RMo1
— Vee (@gee_veee) March 7, 2023
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“We send our condolences to the victims’ friends and family and the American people. And we will continue to work towards peace.”
Obrador claimed that the U.S. media would portray the incident to seem like Mexico was a dangerous place to visit but they won’t shed light on the Mexicans who are killed in America. He hoped that the senseless crime would not stop people from visiting the country, though GOP politicians will perhaps use this as way to push a certain agenda, he stressed.