AP reported on Thursday that a Mexican drug cartel claimed responsibility for the brazen kidnapping of four Americans, and left a note of apology. Five members of the cartel were identified as the culprits behind this incident, according to media outlets in Mexico.
Circulating on social media are photos showing five men on the pavement, their hands tied – four of them shirtless – in front of a pickup truck, along with a handwritten letter of apology on the windshield.
Two individuals were wounded and killed in a shooting that took place in Matamoros city, shortly after arriving at the border on Friday. The attacks occurred in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, where American travelers were present. The Associated Press reported that a copy of a letter was obtained from a law enforcement source.
Officials have stated that members of the cartel likely confused them for narcotics traffickers and kidnapped them after firing at their vehicle.
In the letter, the Scorpions group from the Gulf cartel expressed remorse to the inhabitants of Matamoros, a Mexican lady who lost her life due to an unintended projectile, as well as the four individuals from the United States and their loved ones.
We have decided to overturn the decisions of those individuals who were directly involved and responsible in the events, adding that the letter reads, “people who had gone against the cartel’s rules, and acted with a lack of discipline and made their own decision-making at all times.”
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Two Americans have passed away in Mexico. Two individuals who managed to survive have returned to the United States. The identities of the deceased have been established. This is the most recent update.
As per an unauthorized official to discuss the matter, the AP also acquired the image of the individuals lying face-down on the floor and disclosed that they had been discovered bound inside one of the cars that authorities were searching for, along with the message.
Bodies returned to US authorities
The attorney general’s office said earlier on Thursday that an ambulance and medical clinic in Matamoros, which were used to provide aid to injured Americans, have been seized. However, officials in Tamaulipas have not publicly confirmed having new suspects in custody.
A man who was protecting them on the outskirts of the city was apprehended by authorities on Tuesday morning. Latavia McGee remained physically unscathed, but Eric Williams sustained a gunshot wound to his leg, and Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard tragically lost their lives in the assault.
Having undergone autopsies, the bodies of Woodard and Brown were given to U.S. Officials on Thursday. The two individuals who survived were brought back to the United States and are currently being provided with medical treatment.
Apology won’t take away the suffering
Jerry Wallace, a Williams’ family member, informed the AP that the relatives are glad he is alive, but they do not accept the cartel’s apology.
Wallace, aged 62, expressed that the American and Mexican administrations should make more efforts to tackle cartel violence, emphasizing, “It will not bring any change to the pain we endured.”
Jerry Robinette, a former special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, stated that he was not surprised by the five men whom the cartel delivered to Mexican authorities as being involved in the attack.
He stated, “On numerous occasions, we have witnessed the cartel taking responsibility for their actions. It is detrimental to their operations. They will rectify their own mistakes.”
Robinette stated that there will be orders for their extradition to the United States in order to confront criminal accusations shortly. He mentioned that the arrest of the individuals might not sufficiently please United States authorities. Moreover, federal investigators will continue their efforts to ascertain the extent of the men’s involvement in the incident.
Robinette stated, “However, that is merely a portion of it,” the aggression with the individuals directly implicated most closely corresponds to the primary aspect. The act of pulling the trigger is actually the point where the investigation becomes crucial and extends beyond the individuals involved.
Fifth member of group stayed behind and grew concerned
The authorities in Brownsville, Texas, where the travelers entered Mexico, stated that they were informed about the progress in Matamoros.
The FBI said that Martin Sandoval, the police spokesman, was trying to confirm whether the men in the photo were the actual suspects. The FBI did not immediately provide a comment on Thursday.
Police confirmed that Cheryl Orange, a member of the traveling party, had stayed behind in Brownsville, Texas because she had forgotten the required travel documents. Initially, it was reported that Latavia McGee was undergoing a tummy tuck as a gluteal augmentation, but this was actually not the case. She was driven from Mexico to South Carolina by a group of individuals.
When the group left the motel in Matamoros at 8 a.M. On Friday, she last saw them with white rented minivan bearing North Carolina plates. The next day, after crossing the border, she called the police on Saturday to alert them about her safety concerns. Orange was the first to contact the authorities, following four others who had crossed the border the previous day.
According to the police report, the group had planned to come back in time to check out of the motel on Saturday.
“(Orange) mentioned that she hasn’t received any communication from them since (Friday),” according to the report.
According to Alejandro Hope, a former Mexican intelligence official who informed USA TODAY, there is fierce competition among rival factions of the Gulf cartel for control over the profitable plazas in the north that are utilized for drug trafficking into the United States, leading to multiple arrests and fragmentation.
In recent years, he said that the warring factions have also made a lot of money from violent crimes, robberies, and extortion, due to the corruption and inefficiency of local authorities in Mexico, who operate with impunity.
Speculation has arisen that the attack on Americans may have started as a robbery before escalating into an international incident, prompting leaders of the cartel to offer men as scapegoats.
Hope, a security consultant and partner at GEA Grupo de Economistas y Asociados in Mexico, expressed, “They identify as a cartel, but in reality, they are merely a group of unrefined criminals.”
He mentioned that law enforcement authorities on the forefront of both factions cooperate closely and are expected to maintain this collaboration.
Contributing: The AP (Associated Press).