An alleged member of the Mexican Gulf Cartel has come forward and issued an apology for last week’s kidnapping of the four Americans in Mexico, claiming that five of the men responsible for the killings and abduction have been turned over to authorities. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, they not only apologized to the victims and their families but also to the residents of Matamoros, as an innocent female bystander was also said to have died during the shooting that killed Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown.
“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,” they wrote in the letter. It further stated that the men who were responsible for the attack had violated the cartel’s rules by failing to respect the life and well-being of the innocent. A photo was also provided to the AP showing five men facing the ground with their hands tied up in front of a truck, which had the latter attached to the windshield.
A letter from the Mexican drug cartel that abducted four Americans and killed two of them said they turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible.#Mexico #Kidnapping #US #Matamoros #Tamaulipas #MexicanCartel #DrugCartel #Satluj #SatlujTV #LetTheTruthFlow pic.twitter.com/fmylQv1pT4
— Satluj (@SatlujTV) March 9, 2023
It was previously reported that the Gulf Cartel may have mistaken the four Americans, Latavia McGee, Eric Williams, Woodard, and Zindell, for Haitian drug smugglers. Jerry Wallace, the cousin of Eric William who was the only man to have survived the kidnapping attack, said that he would not be accepting the cartel’s apology after the “suffering” he and his family have had to endure this past week.
McGee was accompanied by Woodard, Brown, and Williams on their trip to Mexico on Friday after she was scheduled to undergo a tummy tuck procedure. After traveling from South Carolina to Brownsville, Texas, they crossed the Mexican border and eventually got lost on their way to the clinic.
It wasn’t long after when a group of Gulf Cartel members ambushed the group and began shooting at their rental minivan. During the shooting, reports claim that Woodard and Brown were killed with their bodies being transported onto a truck along with the surviving victims McGee and Williams.
Mexican Drug Cartel Writes Apology Letter After 4 American Friends Were Kidnapped and 2 Were Killed in Deadly Kidnapping. 😳💔 pic.twitter.com/esnLgyliDw
— 6ixStarTV (@6ixstarstv) March 9, 2023
The pair were then taken to a guarded property where they were reportedly tortured for three to four days before being rescued by Mexican authorities. The kidnapping and murder of the U.S. citizens became one of the biggest stories over the weekend, sparking a wide debate on whether it was safe traveling to Mexico.
It should be noted that the crime occurred in the city of Matamoros, which is widely known for being predominantly dominated by cartel members, so it’s arguable to insinuate that Mexico was a dangerous country to visit. President Andrés Manuel López argued that the media would spin the incident to make people steer away from even thinking of coming to Mexico, stressing that they never seem to talk about the innocent Mexicans who are killed in the U.S.
McGee and Williams have since left Mexico and were treated at a local medical center in Brownsville earlier this week.