FBI Looking for Texas Women Who Vanished in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas

"MX" for Borderland Beat

The FBI says three Texas women vanished in Northern Mexico last week. They are, left to right, 18-year-old Blasa Guadalupe Paloma, 38-year-old Perla Ercia and 38-year-old Blasa Guadalupe Palomo.(FBI San Antonio)

Three women who crossed the US-Mexico border to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, are missing, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Officials say Guadalupe Palomo, 38, Blasa Guadalupe “Lupita” Palomo, 18, and Perla Ercia, 38, may have been kidnapped.

The trio crossed the international bridge at about 3 p.m. on March 3 in a white 2012 Toyota Corolla with Texas license plates. Ercia had an appointment with a Nuevo Laredo eye doctor because he had an eye infection. FBI investigators say that there is no indication the women did not plan to return to Laredo, Texas.

“Although the whereabouts of the three women are unknown at this time, it is believed they are still in Mexico and may be the victims of a kidnapping. Perla has two additional elementary-aged children, as does 38-year-old Blasa,” the FBI said.

Palomo is a business owner who resides in Laredo. She has brown eyes and long black hair. She is approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds. Palomo has a “Medusa” tattoo on her shoulder and a tattoo of a snake on her forearm. She was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black pants and black athletic shoes.

Her daughter, “Lupita,” has brown eyes, black/blue ombre hair. She stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. She was last seen wearing a red sweatshirt.

Ercia has brown eyes, short, dark, curly hair. She is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds and has a tattoo of an infinity sign on her left wrist. She was last seen wearing a black shirt.

Lupita takes medications every day for numerous health reasons and officials say she did not have them with her when she went missing in Mexico. Ercia is mother to a 4-week-old baby in the care of her elderly mother, who also takes care of Ercia's grandmother.

As reported by Borderland Beat, Nuevo Laredo is under the control of the Northeast Cartel (Cartel del Noreste, CDN), a splintered group of the old Zetas cartel. It is rival to the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo, CDG), based east of Nuevo Laredo all the way to Matamoros.

In the past, the CDN has targeted American drivers in Nuevo Laredo by forcing them to pay money or "cartel tax" (cuota). Most of these incident happened near Luis Donaldo Colosio Avenue, which connects Nuevo Laredo with the federal highway leading to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Borderland Beat published a story with a video showing how the CDN sets up blockades.

Sources: Laredo Times; Borderland Beat archives