Devastating word
from a Mexican border town.
Local officials announcing this morning
two American kidnap victims
kidnaping victims are dead.
Two others, authorities say, are alive.
And a source tells CNN right now
that one of those two
locked in a battle
to survive
the race
against the clock
to find
the hostages
started last week
in Matamoros, just across the border
with a brazen attack.
You can see it here.
Gunmen firing on that white minivan
before pulling Americans from the car
and speeding away.
CNN's John Miller is working
his sources from New York.
And as Carrie outward
monitoring this from
the State Department,
we begin
with our security correspondent
Josh Campbell in Los Angeles.
Josh,
what's the latest on the wow,
the sad tragedy here?
Yeah, sad indeed, John.
And you know, since this incident began,
I've been talking to sources
trying to get information
about where these victims were,
what the U.S.
government was doing to try to find them.
And to a person,
these sources told me that, look,
the prospect here is very grim,
and that is because of that video
that you just showed, that graphic video
where you see
individuals being loaded
and shoved
into the back of that white vehicle.
One U.S.
official told me
that that appeared
to be the aftermath
of this original incident.
And because of that
violent nature of the attack,
as well as you see
people being loaded into the car
that didn't appear to be moving again,
the sources feared the worst,
even as they worked
to try to release these captives.
We are learning,
as you mentioned, though,
the breaking news here,
that two of those American citizens
were found deceased.
Of the other two, those who survived.
I'm told that one is in
grave condition, was severely wounded
during this encounter.
Now, as far as where they were found,
a source tells me that it was at
some type of clinic
in Matamoros,
which, of course, is the area
where these American citizens traveled
when they went
from South Carolina to Texas
and then into Mexico
seeking some type of medical procedure.
They,
of course, were quickly met by gunfire
as they traveled into Mexico.
One source told me that
law enforcement believes
at this point
that a cartel known as the Gulf Cartel
mistook these American citizens
for Haitian drugs.
Smugglers opened fire.
I'm told that law enforcement
doesn't believe
this began as a kidnaping operation.
It was some type of kill operation
between two types of rival factions.
However, these American citizens mistaken
for drug smugglers,
they were engaged by these attackers
and then taken away.
And, of course,
where this goes from now,
I'm told,
John, by a source
just before we got on the air
that Mexican officials will be conducting
the forensic examination
of the two bodies,
those two who are deceased.
After that, medical examiner
does a review
to determine the cause of death.
Those remains will be handed
over to the U.S.
government and then retreat, titrated
back to the homes of those victims.
And, of course,
there's a long investigation
to go for the FBI
working with their Mexican authorities
to try to hold accountable
those responsible John.
Josh Campbell, appreciate that.
Let's continue the conversation
about law enforcement with John Miller.
John, what are you learning
from your sources?
And help our viewers understand,
this is sort of a wild, wild west
place in Mexico known to law enforcement
on that side of the border
and in the sometimes successful
sometimes not successful coordination
between American officials
and their Mexican counterparts.
So, as you
say, John,
this is right
across the border
from Brownsville, Texas.
It is a level four
no go State Department travel advisory.
Do not travel,
the highest advisory that they give.
Yet there are many people
who cross over that border
for these medical appointments
or to go to these drug stores
where you can buy
over-the-counter things.
That would be prescription here
buy drugs cheaper.
A lot of people are getting counterfeit
drugs there that matched, you know,
names of painkillers that are
that are hard to come by here.
So there's a lot of traffic,
tourist traffic, medical tourism there.
But what you see here is an instance
where you've got a crossover
because that territory
is largely controlled by the Gulf cartel.
The Gulf cartel is one of the oldest,
longest running strongest,
heavily armed cartels.
And when you look at that vehicle,
you see that bullet hole
in the driver's side window.
You see a bullet hole directly below that
at the top of the door.
Further back
in the vehicle,
the passenger
side window is completely raked out.
And if that passenger
side door were closed,
you would see that
the tire of the rear tire
has been shot out.
There's another bullet hole above that.
So we have a car
that was raked with gunfire,
which is kind of
our preview
to the idea
that two of our American victims
here, sadly, are deceased
because they opened
fire into that vehicle, drag them out
and then in talking to the victim,
who we believe may be
the one who survived,
based on the video we've seen of her
being put into the into the truck
to Washington McGee,
who was down there for her second visit
to complete a surgical procedure.
It it appears that they would have been
talking to her and figuring out
these are not what we suspected.
And that's been the working theory
that they thought
that they were taking some competing
Haitian smuggling gang out,
but that they'd run into Americans.
John, that, of course, creates a problem,
which is
we have now
shot and wounded and or killed Americans
that have nothing to do
with the criminal world,
which makes them
a bit of a hot potato to that cartel.
So this is our blind spot right now.
Did the cartel
turn them over by
leaving them somewhere
to try and take the pressure
out of this problem between them,
the Mexican government and
the United States
or did the Mexican government
use intelligence,
reconnaissance, surveillance,
locate them and rescue them?
And that's
that's what we're hoping to learn
from that press conference.
That's coming up.
A key
detail still to come,
but out with the State Department
follow up on that point from John Miller.
The White House says
it wants answers from Mexican authorities
as soon as possible.
The attorney general says
he will work with partners in Mexico
to try to get the answers here.
As John Miller noted,
this is an area
the State Department long
has said to Americans, please,
it is not safe.
But what now?
Yeah, well, what U.S.
officials are looking to
learn is just more details
about what actually went down here.
We just heard from the White House,
NSC is John Kirby,
who did appear to confirm
that some in this group are dead
and some are alive.
Obviously,
Mexican authorities
are the ones who said that
two of these four Americans have died
and two are alive at this point.
But what John Kirby said is that the U.S.
is extending
its deepest condolences
to those who were killed.
But he also referenced
those who survived this attack.
And the next steps here for the U.S.
government,
specifically for State Department
officials,
is notifying the families
of those Americans as to what happened
and what their conditions are.
Of course,
continuing to monitor that situation.
If those who are still alive
are in critical condition.
And so what we're waiting for
is that notification to happen.
And then we'll probably learn more
from the State Department as to
what happened here.
What questions remain?
I think it's also important to note
that it's not just the State Department
that warned
Americans against traveling
to this region of Mexico
due to the criminal activity,
due to the gang violence and the murders
that happen there,
but it's also the CDC
that has warned
Americans against traveling there
for medical tourism,
saying that
there could be many complications
that arise from those procedures.
And we know that it is
a medical cosmetic procedure
that led this group of four
to actually travel to this region
and travel alone.
Let me try to button it up this way.
You mentioned
this is one of the best
known longest
running longest in power cartels.
The State Department
for a long time has told Americans
it is not safe,
which gets to the point
that this cartel has been allowed
to function
in this inner border,
that cross-government cooperation
is supposed to be
to put these cartels out of business.
Why this one so frustrating
and in this case, so deadly?
Well, this is all about making money
that that cartel generates,
not in the millions.
John, as you know, in the billions,
these are the main suppliers of fentanyl
which is killing Americans here
based on chemicals they get from China
and then money they launder
with Chinese organized
crime groups on the way out.
And the Mexican government has faced
both problems of corruption
on the state police level
and on the federal police level.
That has been long running.
But also the struggle of the cartels
that will battle the government
with their armies and that has cost
many brave Mexican lives.
So what you're actually seeing
in the background,
I know Kylie is feeling some of this.
We're seeing
some of this now
is the Mexican government in the US
have this close relationship.
Our law enforcement teams work together.
But there is
that feeling that, you know,
the Mexican government is in charge
even when Americans are involved
And part of the disconnect
we're watching right now,
which is
why is there so little information
available to US authorities
who have been on top of this?
Is that the Mexico
the Mexican government is showing
we're running this operation
and will tell the story
when we're when we think it's time.
Well, obviously from the White House
down in the government,
they're demanding answers
on this side of the border.
Those families obviously deserve answers
as well as John Miller, Josh Campbell.
Kelly, I would appreciate you
bringing us the latest on this.
And we'll stay on top
as we get new information throughout
the day.