A Texas man has been accused of providing the firearm used in a Mexican cartel attack on four American citizens that left two of them dead after a harrowing abduction, according to local media.
The Americans – Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Eric Williams and Zindell Brown – were kidnapped at gunpoint earlier this month after crossing into the Mexican city of Matamoros from Brownsville, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley.
McGee and Woodward were killed, and the other two have since been rescued from a shack where they were found and returned to the United States.
A third person, a Mexican citizen, was also killed, according to authorities.
AMERICANS WHO SURVIVED MEXICO KIDNAPPING SHAKEN AFTER THEY ‘WATCHED’ OTHERS DIE: FAMILY
A Mexican army soldier guards the Tamaulipas State Prosecutor´s headquarters in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 8, 2023. (AP Photo)
Federal agents arrested the Texan, Roberto Lugardo-Moreno, on Saturday, according to The Monitor, a McAllen-based newspaper.
Lugardo-Moreno allegedly bought a Diamondback DB15 series rifle in October 2019 and knowingly sold it for a $100 profit to a cartel member, the outlet reported. Mexican authorities recovered the weapon as part of their investigation into the Matamoros murders – but federal prosecutors allege that it wasn’t the only gun Lugardo-Moreno bought for the cartel.
Warning Graphic Content: Armed men seen dragging Americans into truck in Mexico
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
A picture of Jose Guadalupe “N,” the person detained in the rescue operation, is displayed during a press conference to give details after two American citizens were found dead in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, at Auditorium of Secretaria de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana on March 7, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. Police had been looking for a group of four American citizens since they were kidnapped by a group of gunmen on Friday, March 3 in the border town of Matamoros. The group of friends had traveled from South Carolina to buy medicines. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
DEADLY MEXICO KIDNAPPING HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS OF US CITIZENS SEEKING MEDICAL PROCEDURES IN REGION
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Tamaulipas is one of six Mexican states that carries a travel warning from the U.S. State Department against visiting the region due to the elevated risks of violence targeting Americans.
A general view of a storage shed at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, March 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Daniel Becerril)
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this month that “these sorts of attacks are unacceptable” and the Biden administration would “stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
