Apology issued for deaths
Letter claims cartel handed over men who killed Americans
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico — A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for abducting four Americans and killing two of them condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement source, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families.
“We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartel’s rules, which include “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent.”
Drug cartels have been known to issue communiques to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also at times like these to do some public relations work to try to smooth over situations that could affect their business. And last Friday’s violence in Matamoros was bad for cartel business.
The Americans’ killings brought National Guard troops and an Army special forces outfit running patrols that “heat up the plaza” in narco terminology, Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said.
“It is very difficult right now for them to continue working in terms of streetlevel drug sales and transferring drugs to the United States; they are the first ones interested in closing this chapter as soon as possible,” Mr. Saucedo said.
A photograph of five bound men face down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which was shared with The Associated Press by the source on condition that they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share the document.
State officials did not immediately publicly confirm having new suspects in custody.
A separate state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case.
The cousin of one of the victims said his family feels “great” knowing that Eric Williams, who was shot in the left leg, is alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel blamed for kidnapping the Americans.
“It ain’t gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through,” Jerry Wallace told The Associated Press on Thursday. Mr. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence.
Last Friday, the four Americans crossed into Matamoros from Texas so that one of them could have cosmetic surgery. Around midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into a pickup truck. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet.
Another friend called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border Friday morning.
Brownsville Police Department spokesman Martin Sandoval said officers checked local hospitals and jails after receiving the report of the missing people. A detective was assigned to the case and then alerted the FBI after realizing the people had crossed into Mexico. Shortly after, the FBI took over the case as social media videos began to show a shootout with the victims matching the description of the missing people.
Authorities located them Tuesday morning on the outskirts of the city, guarded by a man who was arrested. Two of the Americans were dead, one was wounded and the other was unharmed.