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American abducted along Mexican border

From Brian Todd
CNN

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People cross from the U.S. into Mexico at the Paso del Norte border crossing in Juarez, Mexico.
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Wolf Blitzer Reports
Mexico

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Yvette Martinez is a single mother, who, her parents believe, just turned 28 years old.

We say they believe that because they haven't seen Yvette since September 17, 2004.

On that day, Yvette and her friend Brenda Cisneros went from their homes in Laredo, Texas, across the border to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. They were heading to a concert to celebrate Brenda's 23rd birthday and disappeared.

Their case is by no means isolated.

"At least 27 American citizens have been abducted along the border over the past six months," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said at a briefing Thursday.

Of those 27, State Department officials say two people have been killed, 14 released and eleven remain missing.

U.S. diplomatic and law enforcement officials say it's a turf battle between drug cartels in the area, with innocents caught up in a sideline business of kidnap and ransom.

It's gotten so bad that the State Department has issued a travel warning.

"We do feel that it's important to tell Americans about the security situation near the border," Boucher said.

U.S. law enforcement officials tell CNN that Mexican police are doing very little about the problem.

The Mexican president's office took issue with both the warning and the criticism of its actions, and issued a statement saying, "Mexico is taking determined action against drug-trafficking. Mexico's government cannot permit any foreign government to judge or express itself regarding policy actions undertaken to deal with its problems."

CNN spoke to the new mayor of Nuevo Laredo, who says his office is forming a special police task force to patrol areas frequented by cross-border visitors.

"We are concerned about every human being, every citizen, whether they are a resident of Nuevo Laredo, or they are visiting us," Mayor Daniel Pena says.

But the mayor also said he believes most if not all of the people kidnapped are likely involved in drugs -- a view not shared by the U.S. Consul in Nuevo Laredo, Michael Yoder.

"The conventional wisdom was, people were fairly safe if they were not involved in the drug trade. But once we learned people were being kidnapped for ransom, and given the numbers involved, we thought it important to notice that," Yoder says.

Yvette Martinez's step-father says she was not involved in drugs, and he challenges the mayor of Nuevo Laredo to prove it.


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