U.S. Drug Informant Dies In Mexico

A U.S. government informant who helped arrange a drug sting was found dead in Mexico on Tuesday, five days after armed men abducted him from in front of his used clothing and appliance store, the FBI said.

The body of Hector Salinas Guerra, 42, was found in Reynosa, Mexico, by members of the Tamaulipas State Judicial Police, FBI spokesman John DeLeon said. He said he didn’t know how Salinas died or precisely where his body was found.

The discovery came as seven men caught in the sting are on trial this week on charges of arranging to smuggle 2,971 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

Police said Salinas was outside his store in McAllen on Thursday when he was forced at gunpoint into a green Chevrolet Suburban by four men wearing hats bearing Mexican police insignias. His body was found just over the Mexican border, about 12 miles from McAllen.

Fire officials refused comment on whether a burned Chevrolet Suburban found a mile from Salinas’ shop is linked to the case.

Mexican federal police denied any connection with Salinas’ abduction and death.