According to several reports in today?s press, it seems that the kidnapping of two teenagers in La Vega was the result of a well-organized search carried out by people from La Vega acting under orders from a Mexican drug cartel. The motive appears to be debt collection and revenge. In his statements to the press, President Mej?a said that the father of one of the teenagers was part of a Mexican-Dominican cartel that operated in New York who apparently pulled off what is called a ?tumbe?, or theft of a lot of drug money. The President said that sophisticated telecommunications equipment belonging to the investigative organizations of the government had located calls from New York that identified the kidnappers. Again, according to the report in the List?n Diario, the Mexicans recruited Dominicans from La Vega but living in New York, to carry out the plan. It took two years to locate Junior Fern?ndez who kept a very low profile in La Vega and dealt in real estate. Fern?ndez had very few friends and a limited social life, keeping to his luxurious house in an upper income residential area. The day before the kidnapping, the gang deflated several tires on the only school bus, and grabbed the children on their way to school the next morning. The President did not say if the kidnappers were in custody.