Two sisters from Arizona shot dead on highway in Mexican state of Sonora; murders linked to criminal group

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Two elderly sisters from Arizona were shot and killed while traveling on the Sonoyta-Caborca ​​Highway in Sonora, Mexico.

The victims, identified as 72-year-old Uvaldina Curiel Mendoza and her 82-year-old sister Enedina Curiel, were found in their overturned Nissan Pathfinder with Arizona license plates, Mexico News Daily reported.

The Attorney General of Sonora stated that the The gunmen responsible for last week’s attack fled the scene. Authorities report that there are indications linking the perpetrators to a criminal group, but no further details have been released. The attackers were reportedly traveling in a stolen Ford-150 pickup truck, armed with AK-47 rifles, ammunition and bulletproof vests.

“Security forces from three levels of government, with the support of specialized air and ground troops, immediately launched an operation to locate and arrest the criminal group responsible,” Sonora state prosecutors said in a post on X.

The sisters, originally from Caborca, were on their way to their hometown when they were intercepted by the gunmen. One of the women was a U.S. citizen, while the other was a legal U.S. resident, the State Department confirmed to CBS News. The motive of the attack appears to be robbery. according to a social media post by José Ortiz Reyes, a former professor at the University of Sonora and husband of one of the victims.

“Today is the most terrible day in the existence of my family because armed men who wanted to rob my wife and sister-in-law killed them on the Sonoyta-Caborca ​​​​highway section,” Ortiz Reyes wrote on Facebook. He currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

During a press conference, the governor of Sonora, Alfonso Durazo, confirmed the seizure of the attackers’ vehicle and weapons. “We have seized the attackers’ vehicle and weapons and arrest warrants have been issued,” Durazo explained. He was criticised by the Border Report for downplaying the seriousness of the situationDurazo urged travelers to be cautious on highways in Mexico and around the world.

The Sonoyta-Caborca ​​highway is notorious for its violence and a known route for migrant smuggling. The U.S. State Department has listed Sonora as a state to reconsider travel to due to safety concerns since August of last year. Local reports indicate that Car thefts, especially of pickup trucks and SUVs, are becoming increasingly common in northern Sonora.

As of Thursday morning, no arrests had been made in connection with the killings. Authorities are still investigating the incident.