Woman in group of kidnapped U.S. citizens was in Mexico for cosmetic procedure, official says

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of four Americans thought to have been kidnapped at gunpoint in an attack in Mexico on Friday.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter said a woman in the group had been seeking a cosmetic medical procedure. Cartel gunmen targeted the group in a case of mistaken identity, the official said.

The four Americans drove into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in a white minivan with North Carolina plates Friday, the FBI said in a statement.

Shortly after they crossed into Mexico, the Americans were met with gunfire from unidentified shooters, the release said. 

A law enforcement source with knowledge of the matter said part of the kidnapping was captured on video that showed a gunman dragging people into a white pickup.

The gunmen “herded the four U.S. citizens into another vehicle and fled the scene with them,” the FBI said. 

The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, said Monday in a statement that an “innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed” during the kidnapping.

In contrast to the law enforcement official’s comments, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said at a daily news conference that the Americans were in the country to buy medicine — a common practice for people seeking cheaper medications across the southern border.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement Monday that the kidnappings were “unacceptable.”