Man Who Boasted About Stealing From Mexican Cartel Goes Missing
Police have made one arrest but believe three more suspects are at large.
Anyone who knows anything about Mexican drug cartels is well aware that you should never steal money from them – nor brag about it if you do. A chilling new missing person case out of Texas sounds like something out of the Netflix series Narcos. A man was overheard bragging about stealing $50,000 from a Mexican drug cartel. Less than two hours later he was kidnapped and hasn't been seen since.
Erik Tadeo Ramirez Was at a House Party in the Laredo
According to an affidavit seen by the Laredo Morning Times, on March 23 Erik Tadeo Ramirez was at a house party in Laredo, Texas, just across the Mexico border. At 11 p.m. witnesses overheard his phone call to a woman.
Two Hours After Bragging About Stealing $50,000 From a Cartel, He Was Kidnapped
According to partygoers, Ramirez was bragging about stealing $50,000 from the Cartel del Noreste. Less than two hours later at 12:45 a.m. on March 24, two or three masked men reportedly showed up at the party in a blue Dodge pickup truck.
There Is Video Footage of Him in a Blue Truck
After assaulting Ramirez they forced him into the truck, per the FBI. An hour later, the same truck crossed the Mexico border. There is video footage of a man matching Ramirez's description with a bloody face attempting to get out of the car while in motion. According to the affidavit he was pulled back into the car.
Police Located the Truck in Mexico
The pickup truck was registered to the mother of Jonathan Cavriales, who was later arrested and charged with kidnapping. On March 24 it was parked across the border in Mexico at his grandmother's house in Nuevo Laredo.
They Arrested the Truck Owner's Son When He Tried to Return to the United States
On March 25, FBI special agents interviewed two people at the party where Ramirez was taken from, who maintained that he had been kidnapped. On February 27, Cavriales attempted to cross the border back into the United States in the same truck when he was detained by US Customs and Border Protection
He Confessed to Driving the Car with a Kidnapped Victim
After being arrested, he confessed to driving the car into Mexico with a kidnapped victim and three other people on March 24 and also confessed that he knew Ramirez had stolen around $50,000 from the cartel. No other arrests have been made.
