Russian diplomats in Mexico City pressured Mexican authorities and went public with the news that one of their citizens suffered a kidnapping while traveling to the border city of Reynosa. As in prior kidnappings, the Tamaulipas government has tried to take credit for rescuing the victim, while in reality, it was the Gulf Cartel that just released her.
News of the kidnapping first surfaced on Saturday night when the Russian Embassy in Mexico sent out a statement confirming that unknown individuals kidnapped one of their citizens while she was traveling by land along the highway that connects the city of Monterrey with the border city of Reynosa.
Sobre el secuestro de una ciudadana rusa en México
Actualmente, los medios de comunicación informan que una ciudadana rusa fue secuestrada en el Norte de México.
De acuerdo con la información que tiene la Embajada, viajó en un vehículo de Monterrey a la ciudad de Reynosa,… pic.twitter.com/CzpRLLzVLR
— Embajada de Rusia en México (@EmbRusiaMexico) March 17, 2024
While the statement does not identify the victim, the Russian news outlet PRAVDA identified her as 23-year-old Maria Rigovich. The outlet revealed the victim sent a voice message to her loved ones claiming cartel gunmen were chasing her and a passenger. A second message revealed that the woman needed to pay $1,500 for her release.
By Sunday, the Russian Embassy sent a second statement revealing that their citizen had been released without paying a rescue and that she was at a police station in Reynosa.
De acuerdo con la información disponible por el momento, la rusa secuestrada se encuentra ahora en la comisaría de Reynosa. Fue liberada sin pagar a los secuestradores el rescate solicitado. https://t.co/LTYfFJP1Ww
— Embajada de Rusia en México (@EmbRusiaMexico) March 17, 2024
Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that due to pressure from the Russian embassy, Mexican federal authorities pressured the Tamaulipas government but the woman was not rescued. Instead, she was released by the Gulf Cartel.
Despite the facts of the case, the Tamaulipas government issued a statement claiming they had rescued the Russian national.
Derivado del trabajo coordinado de la Unidad Especializada en Combate al Secuestro de la @FGJ_Tam , aproximadamente a las 23:00 horas del día 16 de marzo del presente año, fue rescatada la ciudadana de origen ruso.
Más información:https://t.co/tuLI4f1phP
— Vocería de Seguridad Tamaulipas (@VoceriaSegTamps) March 17, 2024
The incident is very similar to various prior cases where the Gulf Cartel released kidnapping victims after the cases went public, and there was pressure from federal officials. As Breitbart Texas reported, in late January, the Gulf Cartel kidnapped 32 migrants from a passenger bus that was traveling from Reynosa to Matamoros. After the case went public, the Gulf Cartel released the migrants in the nearby city of Rio Bravo. At the time, the Tamaulipas government also tried to claim they had rescued the migrants. Days later, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador admitted that it was organized crime who released the migrants.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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