Americans Kidnapped By Mexican Cartel Break Their Silence: “None Of Us Deserved It”
Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams—the two Americans who were kidnapped by a Mexican cartel—have broken their silence.
During an interview with CNN, the pair spoke about the gruesome details and what transpired after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border last month. They explained there were four of them initially, but two of their friends, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were killed along with a local woman.
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“They didn’t deserve that. None of us deserved it. But we’re alive – we have a lot of recovering to do,” recalled Washington McGee.
The pair explained that the four Americans were driving in Matamoros, a Mexican border city when they heard a car horn. “Zindell was in the back seat, he said ‘don’t stop,’ he saw a gun,” she continued.
“Zindell and Shaeed, they jumped up to run, and they were gunned down,” Williams added. “I could see Zindell’s back. He was hit two times, and big chunks of meat were gone.”
After the cartel halted their car, Woodard and Brown attempted to jump out of the vehicle and run but were immediately shot. Williams then explained that he tried to exit the vehicle through the driver’s door but was shot in both legs, leaving him immobilized. “When I jumped out on the driver’s side, I was shot in both legs,” he remembered.
Williams recalled how the Mexican cartel handled his injuries, detailing the brutal medical procedure where they didn’t use “no pain medicine or nothing. They just stitched it up.”
CNN also reported that “an innocent Mexican bystander was killed during the encounter after being hit by a stray bullet almost a block and a half from where the Americans were taken.”
After the four Americans were transported to an undisclosed location, Washington McGee was put in a room with Brown, who was dying. She later explained that the gang alerted her that they were going to take Brown to a hospital for his injuries, but “they came back maybe an hour later, and he was dead.”
“He was fighting for his life, and they didn’t do nothing. I talked to him the whole time … I just told him sorry because I asked him to come with me,” she said. “He was like, ‘It’s okay. I’m your brother. I’m supposed to be there for you. I love you.'”
Washington McGee and Williams were rescued on March 7, 2023, after local authorities found them at a wooden shack. All four of the Americans were then transported back to US soil.
