Mexico Jails 6 Men 25 Years for Abducting 4 Americans
MEXICO · SECURITY
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico borders Texas; Tamaulipas carries a US Do Not Travel warning.
- —What happened A Tamaulipas court sentenced six men to 25 years each.
- —The case Four US citizens were abducted in Matamoros in March 2023; two died.
- —Longest term One man got 37 years after an added homicide conviction.
- —The US link A pistol bought in Brownsville, Texas, was tied to the attack.
- —Still open The verdict date and any appeal were not disclosed.
Three and a half years after four Americans were seized near the Texas border, a Mexican court has issued long prison terms.
A Mexican court has jailed six men for 25 years over the 2023 Matamoros kidnapping of four US citizens. Two of the Americans, who had driven across the border from Texas, were killed.
The attorney general’s office of Tamaulipas, the state facing south Texas, announced the verdict on Tuesday, 6 October. Washington now lists the Gulf Cartel, the crime group linked to the attack, as a terrorist organisation.
What the Tamaulipas Court Decided
A state oral trial court convicted the six of disappearance committed by private individuals, the office said. Under Mexico’s general law on disappearances, that means depriving someone of liberty to hide them or their whereabouts.
Each man received 25 years and three days in prison. The law sets 25 to 50 years for the offence, so the terms sit at the bottom of the range.
One of the six received 12 more years for intentional homicide, for a total of 37 years and three days.
The court ordered that man to pay MXN 113,595.03 (about US$6,300) in damages. He must also pay MXN 25,242 (about US$1,400) for funeral costs.
Investigators seized four vehicles, an ambulance, a plot of land and two other properties during the case, according to the office. The six are aged 24 to 41 and come from Tamaulipas, Hidalgo and Guatemala, Expreso, a Tamaulipas daily, reported.
A seventh person had already received two years in prison and a one-year ban from public office for abuse of authority. Expreso identified him as a Matamoros civil protection paramedic whose service’s ambulance carried the wounded captives.
How the 2023 Matamoros Kidnapping Unfolded
On 3 March 2023, gunmen chased and shot at the Americans’ vehicle soon after it crossed into Matamoros, which faces Brownsville, Texas. A Mexican woman who happened to be nearby was killed.
The four, residents of South Carolina, had travelled so that one of them could have cosmetic surgery, Expreso recalled. Witness video showed the wounded being loaded into the back of a pickup.
Security forces found them on 7 March 2023 in a wooden house in El Tecolote, a rural area outside the city. Two were alive, one of them with gunshot wounds, and two were dead.
A man guarding the house was arrested there. Days later, a letter attributed to a criminal faction apologised and said it was handing over those responsible.
The US Gun and Cartel Link
Infobae México, a news site, ties the six to the Gulf Cartel, a Mexican drug-trafficking organisation. The prosecutor’s statement names no criminal group.
The US Justice Department had already drawn that link. In May 2023, a man from Harlingen, Texas, admitted helping smuggle a pistol into Mexico for Gulf Cartel members.
He had bought it at a Brownsville pawn shop in October 2019, federal prosecutors in south Texas said. Mexican authorities told US investigators the pistol was linked to the 3 March attack.
On 20 February 2025, the State Department listed the Gulf Cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation, alongside the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. Knowingly giving a listed group material support is a US federal crime.
What It Means for You
The State Department rates Tamaulipas at Level 4, Do Not Travel, citing terrorism, crime and kidnapping. Its advisory of 29 May 2026 says US citizens and permanent residents have been kidnapped there.
US government staff in Matamoros must keep to set areas and routes and observe a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew. Americans who cross for medical or dental care fall under the same warning.
The Texas case shows how guns bought at border pawn shops can reach cartel gunmen in Mexico. The verdict itself came more than three and a half years after the Matamoros kidnapping.
What Is Not Known
The attorney general’s office did not say when the court ruled or whether the defence will appeal. It also did not say whether the American survivors testified.
The official statement names no criminal group, so the cartel link rests on media reports and the Texas case. Whether US prosecutors want any of the six is unknown.
What Comes Next
Under Mexico’s national criminal procedure code, either side can appeal a trial verdict to a higher state court. The prosecutor’s statement does not mention an appeal.
The Texas gun case ran separately in US federal court. Conversions use Banco de México’s FIX rate of 17.98 pesos per US dollar for Wednesday, 7 October.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Matamoros kidnapping?
Gunmen attacked four US citizens from South Carolina in Matamoros on 3 March 2023 and took them captive. Four days later, two were found alive and two dead.
What sentences did the six men receive?
Each got 25 years and three days for disappearance committed by private individuals. One man got 12 more years for homicide, or 37 years and three days in total.
Is the Gulf Cartel a terrorist group under US law?
Yes. A State Department designation as a foreign terrorist organisation took effect on 20 February 2025.
Is it safe for Americans to travel to Matamoros?
The State Department says do not travel to Tamaulipas, citing terrorism, crime and kidnapping. US government staff in Matamoros face a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew.
Can the sentences be appealed?
Yes. Mexican law allows an appeal to a higher state court, but the official statement mentions none.
Sources: Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office, release FGJE-370-2026; US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas; Federal Register, terrorist designations of 20 February 2025; US State Department, Mexico travel advisory; Banco de México, FIX exchange rate; Expreso, 6 October; Expreso, 7 October; Infobae México (all accessed 8 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief