Reporters obtained the identification of the criminal lord ultimately responsible for the crimes not long after the rescue and the return of two of the four American citizens taken hostage by the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros.
Jose Alberto Garcia Vilano is the current operational head of the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros and is often referred to as “La Kena or Ciclon 19” in the criminal underground.
According to federal law enforcement officials in Mexico, La Kena has armed guards patrolling the entire city, and they were the ones who fired shots at the four Americans. The Gulf Cartel’s security forces, known as the “La Guardia,” conduct enforcement actions and pursue rivals when they enter the city.
La Kena or a member of his inner circle would ultimately have to give the order to kidnap them, according to a law enforcement source.
Four Americans who had been abducted on Friday were located by Mexican officials early on Tuesday. The rescue occurred in a stash house in Tecolote, a rural region outside of the city. After several hours of raids, the victims were rescued by Mexican and American law enforcement. Reporters were able to determine that investigators from Homeland Security in Harlingen as well as HSI Brownsville were closely cooperating in the case in addition to the FBI.
Authorities were able to locate a woman, two dead men, and one injured man. Authorities transported the two victims to the Veteran’s International Bridge, where they then crossed in an ambulance to Brownsville and was handed over to federal authorities as part of a significant security operation. When the bodies of the two additional victims will be returned home is yet unknown.
Latavia “Tay” McGee, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard, and Eric James Williams allegedly crossed into Matamoros from Brownsville on Friday afternoon in order to receive cosmetic surgery.
Uncertainty surrounds the Gulf Cartel attack, but federal investigators have acknowledged that gunmen chased the white minivan carrying the four American citizens. The minivan collided with another vehicle during the pursuit, and the assailants started shooting. An innocent bystander was struck by one of those stray bullets.
The gunmen were able to load the four Americans into a white pickup and go before Mexican authorities arrived with perfect impunity.
