American killed in Mexico kidnapping tried to cancel tummy tuck trip over drug cartel fears

Zindell Brown told his sister that he was worried about the dangers of visiting Matamoros

One of the Americans killed in a Mexico kidnapping voiced fears about travelling to the country before he and three friends were ambushed at gunpoint by drug cartel members.

Mexican authorities confirmed on Tuesday that Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown were the two US nationals found dead nearly four days after they were kidnapped in the Mexican city of Matamoros– an area dominated by the Gulf cartel.

Brown and Woodward travelled to Mexico from South Carolina with their friends Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric James Williams, who survived the kidnapping. The group drove from South Carolina and had just entered the border between Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros when they were caught in a shootout and forced out of their van and into the kidnapper’s vehicles.

Brown, Woodward and Mr Williams reportedly tagged along to help Ms McGee share driving duties as she was planning to undergo a tummy tuck procedure she had booked with a local plastic surgeon. But before embarking on the trip that would prove fatal for him, Brown told his sister Zalandria Brown that he was worried about the dangers of visiting the cartel-dominated area.

“Zindell kept saying, ‘We shouldn’t go down,’” Ms Brown told the Associated Press.

Brown’s grieving sister also spoke out about video purportedly showing the terrifying moment the kidnapping unfolded. The footage showed several armed men forcing the victims inside a pickup truck in broad daylight.

“To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable,” she said.

Zindell Brown was found dead on Tuesday mexico kidnapping (Handout)

Ms McGee’s mother said she had also warned her daughter against visiting Matamoros, which is on the US State Department’s “Level 4: Do Not Travel” list, but she said: “Ma, I’ll be okay.”

An unnamed state authority told the Associated Press that the missing American citizens were found in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Longoreño on the way to the local beach known as Playa Baghdad.

Ms McGee was unharmed while Mr Williams suffered gunshot wounds to his legs. They have since returned to the US and are being treated at a hospital in Texas.

Autopsies on the bodies of the two fatal victims have been completed and the remains are expected to be repatriated to the US, according to CNN. Officials familiar with the investigation told the network that they believe a Mexican cartel mistook the victims for Haitian drug smugglers.

A suspect, 24-year-old Jose “N,” has been arrested. The man was tasked with making sure the victims didn’t escape during the three-day kidnapping and he was captured at the scene on Tuesday.

LaTavia McGee, abducted in Mexico last week, sits inside an ambulance after she was found alive in Ejido Longoreno (AP)

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet hoes (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villareal and Attorney General Irving Barrios said that while it has not been confirmed, it is likely the Gulf drug cartel is behind the kidnappings.

The White House has decried the attack, with National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby vowing on Tuesday to get justice for the victims.

“We appreciate the hard work of the Justice Department the FBI and the DEA and the Department of Homeland Security … we’re grateful for their swift response to this dreadful incident and for their continued collaboration with Mexican authorities,” Mr Kirby told reporters.

“We’re going to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case.”

Shaeed Woodard was kileld during the kidnapping (Facebook Shaeed Woodard)

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Lopez Obrador claimed that the tragedy will be seized upon by the American media to portray Mexico as a dangerous country, in stark contrast with “silence when Mexicans are killed in the US.”

He went on to say that GOP politicians will also use the crime as an opportunity to push “their agenda.”

“We continue to work every day towards peace and are very sorry that this has happened in our country,” he said. “We send our condolences to the victims’ friends and family and the American people. And we will continue to work towards peace.”