over control of the routes north for drugs, but it s notjust the drug war. we talk about the drug war in mexico, but really, this goes long beyond that. it is about control of the routes for trafficking migrants north, moving guns south from the us and money north, it is about the whole spread of criminal activity, much of which is contained along the border, specifically in states like tamaulipas. and in terms of the mexican government s strategy towards it, 35,000 people were murdered last year. during the worst years of the drug war, which were considered around 2015, it was 20,000. so the president s critics really believe that he is on the wrong path when it comes to security strategy in this country. so, will, you ve mentioned this state advisory, and also, how dangerous particular areas are, but how unusual is it for americans to be kidnapped in the country?
tated them. a northern city, the incident highlights the ongoing violence in some mexican cities which have been wracked by organized crime at least since the mexican drug war began in 2006. we remind americans about the existing travel guidance, remains at level 4, we encourage americans to heed that advice. reporter: the kidnapped americans weren t identified by officials but two families from lake city, south carolina, confirmed to cnn their loved ones are among those kidnapped. spoke to the fbi on sunday when she realized her brother and his three friends, were missing in mexico, brown s mother said she didn t know her son was traveling to mexico. when i found out he was en route in mississippi.
Four US citizens were assaulted and kidnapped by gunmen in northeastern Mexico on Friday in a case of mistaken identity, a US official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.