According to Mexican and US officials, two of the four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico last week are dead, while the other two are alive and have returned to the United States.
On March 3, four US citizens were kidnapped by armed men as they drove into Matamoros, Mexico, in the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas, just across the border from Texas.
According to relatives in the United States, they traveled there for cosmetic surgery.
One man, identified only as José “N,” 24, of Tamaulipas, has been detained.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the friends and families of those who were killed in these attacks,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said in a tweet that the two surviving victims were delivered to the US on Tuesday in collaboration with the US consulate in Matamoros.
The FBI later confirmed that two Americans were discovered dead and that the other two were taken to American hospitals for treatment.
“During the attack, one of the surviving victims sustained serious injuries,” according to the FBI.
The agency will also work with international partners and other law enforcement agencies to “hold those responsible for this horrific and violent attack accountable for their crimes,” according to the statement.
According to US officials, the bodies of those killed have been recovered and are being repatriated.