Mexican cartel ‘apologizes’ in letter for kidnapping, murder of Americans, turns in members ‘responsible’
Friend of Mexican cartel victim talks about his life
Mia Godwin, a friend of one of the Americans killed during a cartel kidnapping last week in Mexico, talks about her reaction to his death and the kind of person he was. (Mark Darrow for Fox News Digital)
A letter from the Mexican cartel allegedly behind last week’s kidnapping and subsequent murder of the Americans claimed members “involved and responsible” for the incident have been dealt with, handing them over to authorities for detention. Has been given.
“We have decided to extradite those who were directly involved in and responsible for the incidents, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” said the Gulf Cartel’s letter, reviewed by The Associated Press. Did.”
Accompanying the letter is a photograph of five men bound and gagged on the pavement. The letter also apologized to the residents of Matamoros, Mexico, where the kidnapping took place, and for the death of an innocent Mexican woman during the incident.
The letter insisted that those responsible for the kidnapping and murder had gone against the rules of the cartel, which include “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent”.
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Five members of the Gulf Cartel, which the group says were responsible for the kidnapping and killing of Americans south of the border last week. (Twitter)
An unnamed state security official told The Associated Press that five people with the letter were found bundled up inside a vehicle that authorities were searching for.
The State Department did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication.
Members of a Mexican cartel kidnapped four Americans who crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, last week. According to Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, two Americans and an innocent Mexican bystander died during the incident.
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A note allegedly left by the Gulf Cartel for Mexican authorities apologized for the actions of some members, claiming they were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Americans last week. (Twitter)
An internal government document reviewed by Reuters indicated that Mexican law enforcement was investigating the possibility of the kidnapping because cartel members believed the Americans had encroached on their territory.
The document included details of the Americans, including drug-related convictions against two members, which the Mexican government reportedly argued made it possible that the Americans “may be directly linked to drug trafficking operations”. Are.”
The four Americans have been identified as LaTavia McGee, Shaid Woodard, Eric Williams and Zindel Brown, all of South Carolina. The FBI has said it cannot identify the survivors, but McGee and Williams have been identified by their families as survivors, and Mexican officials have confirmed Woodard and Brown as deceased. .
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A photo of Jose Guadalupe “N”, a man detained in a rescue operation, is displayed during a press conference to give details after two US citizens were found dead in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico on Tuesday. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Woodard was convicted five times for drug offenses between 2007 and 2016, nearly all of which were minor offenses, and Brown was convicted twice in 2015 for possession of marijuana or concentrated cannabis, Reuters reported. . Williams also received a 2017 conviction for manufacturing and distributing cocaine.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news conference on Thursday that officials have worked “diligently” and “around the clock” to repatriate the remains of the deceased, noting that sometimes the details of the process There may be delay. He stressed that the US would use “every tool” to pursue the cartel “to the fullest extent”.
Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said officers found the four in a wooden shack guarded by a man, whom they arrested. According to WBTW, the cartel had moved the Americans to different locations, at one point taking them to a medical clinic “to create confusion and avoid attempts to rescue them”.
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US Attorney General Merrick Garland blamed drug cartels for the incident on Tuesday, and he promised that the DEA and FBI “are doing everything possible to prosecute and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartel and the entire network”. ”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
