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The bodies of 2 Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico have been returned to the U.S.

Mexican soldiers are seen preparing for a search mission for the kidnapped U.S. citizens in Matamoros earlier this week. Two of the Americans were killed, and Mexican authorities returned their bodies to the U.S. on Thursday.
AP
Mexican soldiers are seen preparing for a search mission for the kidnapped U.S. citizens in Matamoros earlier this week. Two of the Americans were killed, and Mexican authorities returned their bodies to the U.S. on Thursday.

MATAMOROS, Mexico — The Mexican authorities returned the bodies of the two Americans killed in the border city of Matamoros.

After autopsies were conducted, security forces escorted the remains of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown late Thursday evening to American authorities, who then drove them across the bridge to Brownsville, Texas.

Woodard and Brown had been killed after they were caught in the crossfire by unidentified gunmen last Friday. The Associated Press reported that a Mexican woman, 33-year-old Areli Pablo Servando, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet.

Their two companions, LaTavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams, survived and are recovering in a U.S. hospital.

Earlier in the day, one of the organized crime groups that acts with impunity in Matamoros, left five men in the middle of the street with their hands tied.

In a note, the group apologized for the killings and said these were the men responsible.

But Mexican authorities have said nothing about the note or the men accused by the cartel. So far, only one arrest has been made in relation to the kidnapping.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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