(Matamoros) The drug cartel accused of the kidnapping in Mexico of four Americans and the murder of two of them would have circulated a letter of apology and handed over the alleged perpetrators to the authorities, local media reported Thursday, without confirmation official.
Several Mexican media published Thursday a letter attributed to the Gulf Cartel, in which this organization claims to “vigorously condemn” the facts, “apologies”, and has decided to hand over the perpetrators to the authorities.
The kidnappers acted without the authorization of their leaders, according to this alleged letter from the Cartel.
These media also published a photo in which this handwritten statement appears next to five people lying on their stomachs with their hands tied. However, the authorities have not confirmed whether they were indeed the alleged perpetrators of the kidnapping.
So far, the Mexican prosecutor’s office has only reported the arrest of one suspect, who stood guard near the abductees.
The four Americans had crossed the border driving a white minivan registered in North Carolina before being targeted by gunfire, then kidnapped by armed men in the border town of Matamoros. The Mexican authorities quickly evoked the hypothesis of a “misunderstanding”.
Of the four Americans abducted, two died and two were later found, one with gunshot wounds and the other unharmed, on the outskirts of Matamoros. A Mexican bystander was also killed in the exchange of gunfire.
The bodies of the two dead Americans were repatriated to the United States on Thursday, authorities said.