EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The governor of the Mexican border state of Sonora is urging motorists to exercise caution after two U.S. residents driving a Nissan Pathfinder were killed by gunmen last Friday on a highway south of Lukeville, Arizona.
Initial Mexican press reports said the victims were both Americans, and a local newspaper published a photo of a vehicle with Arizona license plates. But Gov. Alfonso Durazo downplayed the U.S. connection. He said the deceased, ages 72 and 82, were originally from Caborca, Mexico. They have been identified only by their first names, Enedina N. and Ubaldina N.
A television station in Tucson, Arizona, reported the U.S. State Department confirmed to its staff that one of the women was an American and the other a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Where, exactly, the women lived in Arizona remains unconfirmed.
The Nissan showed the impact of bullets and had overturned, the Sonora Attorney General’s Office said on X. The Mexican army and National Guard troops located the vehicle along kilometer 221 of the Sonoyta-Caborca highway.
“There was some erroneous information at first. The victims have been identified and they are from Caborca,” Durazo told reporters on Tuesday. “We seized the vehicle and the weapons used by the attackers and we have arrest warrants.”
The vehicle seized is a blue Ford F-150 pickup previously reported as stolen. The weapons are four AK-47 rifles, various ammo magazines and 90 7.62 x 39 caliber bullets. Three ballistic vests also were found inside.
No arrests had been reported as of Wednesday.
Both the Sonora Attorney General’s Office and Gov. Durazo made references to “a criminal group” when talking about the attackers.
“We have clearly identified the criminal groups that operate there,” Durazo told reporters. “Obviously, (drivers) should travel with the utmost care, not just here but on any (highway) in the country or in any place in the world.”
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