New details
in the
investigation into those four Americans
kidnaped in Mexico last week.
Local officials say
one person has been detained
after two of the U.S.
citizens were found dead
in the border town of Matamoros.
The two others are thankfully alive,
although one is severely injured,
according to a U.S. official.
And those two have returned
to the United States
for medical treatment and observation.
Family members
say that the four were a tight knit
group of friends traveling
from South Carolina to Mexico,
so that one of them
could get a medical procedure done
across the border.
But once they crossed from Texas
into Matamoros.
Friends believe that the group got lost
and was then abducted.
The Justice Department
White House and State Department
say they are working
with Mexican officials
to find those responsible
and also to figure out
exactly what went wrong.
U.S.
official previously told CNN
they believe a Mexican cartel
likely mistook
the four Americans
or Haitian drug smugglers.
Our reporters are covering
every angle of this story.
CNN's Rosa Flores starts us off
from the border town
of Brownsville, Texas,
where officials have identified the
victims and the survivors.
Two of four missing Americans
are back in the United States.
And receiving medical treatment in Texas
after being kidnaped in Mexico.
After what a U.S.
official tells CNN
was a case of mistaken identity.
Two members of the party were found dead
and one of the survivors
is severely injured
with a bullet wound to his leg.
According to U.S.
and Mexican officials
in the party of four Latvia.
Washington McGee
and Erik Williams survived.
Zin del Brown and Shaheed
Woodward were killed.
They crossed the border
from Brownsville, Texas,
into Matamoros, Mexico on Friday
for McGee to obtain a medical procedure,
according to a friend of McGee's.
They drove a white minivan
with North Carolina plates
across the border
and got lost
while trying to locate the medical clinic
where they were headed.
The friend told CNN
before they were able
to locate the clinic.
Disturbing video shows the aftermath
of the kidnaping
as heavily armed men
loaded them into a white truck
and transported them
to various locations to evade capture.
According to Mexican officials,
travel got a lot of responsibilities.
The Mexican president saying today
during a news conference
that those responsible
will be found and punished. A U.S.
official familiar
with the investigation
told CNN they believe a Mexican cartel
kidnaped the group
after mistaking them for Haitian
drug smugglers.
Mexico's president
saying the Americans
were caught in a confrontation
between two groups.
The State Department
has issued its highest
level four warning
do not travel to Tamaulipas state
where the group was abducted
due to heavy crime
and kidnaping in the region.
There are many people
who cross over that border
for these medical appointments.
Attacks on U.S.
citizens are unacceptable.
No matter where or under
what circumstances they occur.
McGee and Williams are now under the care
of the FBI, and U.S.
officials
are making arrangements
to bring home
the bodies of Brown and Woodard.
Our immediate concerns
are for the safe return of our citizens
The building that you
see behind me
is a hospital where we believe
that the American survivors
are being treated.
The hospital is not issuing a statement
or reporting their conditions.
But we do know from Mexican officials
that they are releasing
a timeline of this search.
They say that they are even
releasing photographs
of some of the vehicles
that were used by kidnapers
and that at least one individual,
a 24 year old
who was doing some surveillance on
the Americans has been arrested.
And, Jake,
it's important to note that the Mexicans
and Mexican officials say
that the American law enforcement
was not involved during this search Jake.
All right.
Rosa Flores,
thank you so much, in Brownsville. Texas.
Let's bring in
CNN security reporter Josh Campbell.
And Josh,
the Justice Department
says that it is working
closely with the State Department
on this case.
What is the role of a
investigation into this matter in Mexico?
Well,
this is an entire whole of government
approach is how U.S.
officials are describing this.
So in the United States
embassy, you have the ambassador
but also in
what's called the country team,
a host of various different agencies
that convene
and what's called an emergency
action committee
when you have a major incident like this.
All of those agencies
bring to bear certain things like that.
The Drug Enforcement
Administration, obviously,
the State Department
working the diplomatic angle.
And then, of course, the FBI,
which, you know,
has been involved from the beginning
to leverage their intelligence,
their human informant,
signals intelligence,
working with their close partners
there in Mexico.
I'm told there are very close
relationships between FBI agents
and Mexican authorities.
And so all of that was being leveraged
in order to try to identify
where these victims are.
It's also worth pointing out that
although we are now getting a resolution,
a very tragic resolution,
here to this incident,
the investigation is not over.
The FBI
still offering a $50,000 reward
leading to the identification
and prosecution of these captors.
Ultimately,
do you think the U.S., assuming
that any suspects are captured,
do you think the U.S.
will request
extradition, given that the crimes
were committed against Americans?
I suspect the request will be made.
It's yet to be seen
whether Mexican officials
will adhere to that.
Now, on his face,
this appears to be an incident
that would fall under the U.S.
Mexico treaty,
where you have
the attack on Americans,
the killing, the murder of Americans
and so that could fall under the treaty.
But it's worth pointing out,
our colleague
Gustavo Valdes,
has been pointing this out
so important that it wasn't
just Americans
who were killed in this attack.
Of course,
there was a 22 year
old girl,
a Mexican national,
on her way to pick up her child,
who was also caught
in the crossfire of this cartel group
that my source tells me
they thought they were attacking
Haitian nationals.
They end up
killing these two Americans,
injuring the others,
and then killing this 22 year
old Mexican national.
So I think to your question, Jake,
Mexican officials
could also make a case and look,
we will prosecute this here
in our country,
still ensuring that justice is served.
But again,
I think the discussion
about how that will be done
will come later.
First,
the focus now is finding the suspects.
All right, Josh Campbell, thanks.
Mexico is the second
most popular destination
for medical tourism globally,
according to Patients Without Borders.
That's an international health
care consulting company.
That group estimates up
to 3 million
people travel
to Mexico every year to take advantage
of inexpensive treatments.
Americans can save between 40 and 60%
on common medical procedures.
But of course, they're also taking risks
because these clinics
are not held to U.S. standards.
CNN Espanol correspondent Gustavo
Gustavo Valdes joins me now.
Gustavo,
you've been to some of these towns
that are designed
to draw Americans across the border
specifically for medical care.
Tell us about that. Hey, Jake.
Every time you cross into Mexico,
the very first thing
you're more likely to see
is either a pharmacy or a clinic
offering some kind of service
to Americans
who are looking for a cheaper option
to pay for health care.
South of the border, typically
in this part of the country, in Mexico
and Tamaulipas,
you will find dentist services
that is the most common.
The cosmetic surgery, the weight control
procedures
are typically done in larger cities
where they have larger hospitals
because they require more
care after the treatment.
But there is one town in particular
in this area
and the Tamaulipas border is controlled.
Progresso
where you see rows and rows of buildings.
They could be pharmacies,
they could be stores selling drugs.
They also have clinics
that are offering the services
and right now,
they're very popular with Americans
who spend the winter
south in warmer climates.
And now they're going back to their homes
with Mexican drug.
There are cheaper And Gustavo,
what more can you tell us
about the town of Matamoros
and the surrounding areas?
Are they dangerous?
They are for the most part.
They are taxed
like the one we saw are reserved
for confrontations among the cartel,
some cartel members.
This is a state
that is home to the cartel
del gold for the Gulf cartel.
So it is a very violent
criminal organization.
But typically
you see these
attacks among themselves
and what you see is collateral damage
like we saw with this woman
who was shot in this confrontation
with the four Americans.
Typically,
Americans are safe
as long as they are there during the day.
Typically
the criminal organizations
that want to get into
this kind of publicity.
But the danger is always there.
That's why it is.
There is a State Department
has the alert to be careful
when you cross into Mexico,
especially in this part of the country.
All right.
CNN's
Honors by New York
correspondent Gustavo about this.
Thank you so much. Appreciate it.