The Mexican woman killed in the drug cartel crossfire during the kidnapping of four Americans last week has been identified as a 33-year-old church official who worked with kids at a summer school.
Arely Servando, 33, found herself in the middle of the terrifying ambush on March 3, when Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams were abducted in crime-ridden Matamoros.
Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villareal disclosed that she was hit as she stood about a block and a half away from the gunfire by the Gulf Cartel’s Scorpions Group, the Daily Mail reported.
Servando, a graduate of the National College of Technical Professional Education, worked with children at the Biblical Summer School and was a member of the Association of Young Ambassadors of Pentecostal Power, the outlet said.
“Arelita, as I affectionately called her, was my vice president along with many other things,” association president Priscila Andrade told the El Universal, according to the paper.
“My little sister, best friend and companion,” she added.
On Thursday, March 9, the notorious cartel apologized and turned in five members who they say were responsible for the attack.
The Scorpions Group said it “decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events” related to the abduction, according to a letter leaked to the Associated Press by a Tamaulipas state law enforcement source.
McGee and Williams were found injured in a dingy shack on Tuesday, but Woodard and Brown were killed.
Meanwhile, Mexican authorities are pursuing a possible drug-trafficking motive for the kidnapping.
