EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Travelers Kidnapped by Cartel Gunmen in Mexico near Texas

Mexican military forces are looking into the alleged kidnapping of two U.S. citizens and their driver by a group of cartel gunmen south of the border with Texas. The case has been kept under close guard by Mexican officials.

Breitbart Texas spoke with military figures in Tamaulipas who revealed the kidnapping took place in the early morning of November 3, along the highway that connects the border city of Nuevo Laredo with Antiguo Guerrero. The victims were chased and shot at by cartel gunmen. The attackers are believed to be members of the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas.

The victims were identified as 41-year-old Ishnanda H. and 36-year-old Kairsten H. who were riding a Toyota Camry driven by 35-year-old Marcos Solorzano. The two U.S. citizens reside in San Antonio, Texas, and were traveling to Veracruz for meetings.

According to the victims’ statements, when they were getting close to Antiguo Guerrero, a blue SUV cut them off so they turned around and headed back to Nuevo Laredo. The victims claimed the SUV chased them until one of their tires was shot, forcing a stop.

The victims tried to run and hide in the brush but additional gunmen arrived and found them. The gunmen beat and accusing them of being members of the Gulf Cartel. They were handcuffed and loaded into the bed of a pickup.

According to the information the victims gave the Mexican military, Kairsten and Solorzano eventually bailed out of the vehicle. They wandered for several hours until they spotted police patrolling the highway. The officers rushed the victims to a hospital where authorities interviewed Solorzano while Kairsten was taken to intensive care. Ishnanda’s location remains unknown, military sources revealed.

The highway where the kidnapping took place is considered very dangerous due to its proximity to the Rio Grande and is commonly used by cartels for smuggling into Texas. The CDN-Los Zetas are waging a fierce turf war with the Gulf Cartel for control of the area — leading to an increase in cartel convoys on the highway.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities.  The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas.