(Mexico) Mexican authorities announced on Friday the arrest of five people suspected of being involved in the kidnapping a week ago of four Americans and the murder of two of them in Matamoros, in the north- east of the country.
These are the five men that alleged members of the Gulf Cartel (CDG) allegedly abandoned on a street in Matamoros on Thursday, accusing them of carrying out the kidnapping without the authorization of their leaders within this criminal organization, a source from the prosecution told AFP.
Previously Tamaulipas State Attorney Irving Barrios tweeted that he had “executed a warrant for the arrest of five people connected to the March 3 events in Matamoros for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping and homicide. deliberate “.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TAMAULIPAS STATE ATTORNEY VIA REUTERS
The five suspects accompanied by two police officers
On Thursday, local media reported, without official confirmation, that the Gulf Cartel issued a letter of apology for the kidnapping and two murders and handed over the alleged perpetrators to authorities.
Until now, the Mexican prosecutor’s office had only reported the arrest of a single suspect, who stood guard near the kidnapped people.
The four Americans had crossed the border at the wheel of 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.
Dispatch of American troops
The United States Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, affirmed during a press conference that Washington will remain active “until the culprits are brought to justice”, specifying that the Americans “are working with the support of the Mexican government.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said it is unclear whether the country’s attorney general’s office will be responsible for the case.
He also referred to reports that these Americans had criminal records in his country.
Following this tragic incident, Republican congressmen called for the dispatch of American troops to fight drug cartels in Mexico.
Mr. Lopez Obrador described this initiative as “arrogant” and disrespectful of the sovereignty of his country, describing the authors of this proposal within the Congress as “lazy”.
In a text published Friday in the wall street journalthe Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, supported the position of the Mexican president.
“We are a key partner of the United States and we must be treated with respect,” Mr. Ebrard wrote in response to a column in which the former American Minister of Justice, William Barr, supports the initiative. military intervention in Mexico.
Republican parliamentarians also want Mexican criminal groups that traffic in fentanyl, a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin, to be classified by Washington as being in the “terrorist” category.
The production and trafficking of this substance, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans, is controlled by Mexican cartels.
Mr Lopez Obrador said that since taking office in December 2018, six tonnes of fentanyl have been seized.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has urged Mexico to “do more” against these cartels.