After four Americans were kidnapped and two of them killed in Matamoros. Mexico, a Mexican Gulf cartel apology letter is making headlines. Associated Press has reported that a letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel involved in the abductions and killings has apologised for the violence. The apology letter also says that the cartel has turned in those who were responsible for killing the Americans. Meanwhile, the killings have created panic amongst travellers looking to travel to Mexico for a holiday. Mexico travel warnings are in place and should be considered before a trip is planned.
Online images doing the rounds show the five men handed over by the cartel to local authorities. In one of the images, the five men can be seen lying face down while being restrained on the pavement with their shirts pulled over their faces. Officials in uniforms can be seen standing over them. However, it isn’t clear if the pictures are authentic or fake.
AP received the apology letter through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official. In the letter, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologised to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families. Investigators believe the apology letter is authentic.
“The [Gulf Cartel] apologises to the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Ms. Areli, and the affected American people and families,” reads the handwritten letter. Areli is the Mexican woman who was killed in the shootout.
“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. It further states that the said individuals had gone against the cartel’s rules, which include “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent”.
Why did the Mexican drug cartel issue an apology letter?
While investigators believe the letter to be authentic, people are questioning the cartel’s action. Why would a drug cartel first abduct and kill people, and then apologise for doing the same? The answer experts say is pretty straightforward — it has been done to salvage the cartel’s image as the killing of the Americans in Matamoros has ruffled a few feathers and might affect the cartel’s business. It is a simple public relations exercise to smoothen things after Friday’s killings attracted worldwide public attention.
What happened in Matamoros?
The letter comes at a time when Mexican authorities in Reynosa have managed to catch hold of a local leader of the Gulf Cartel who was wanted for past kidnappings, according to a US official in the know of the matter. While it is unclear if the two incidents are related, the official said that the Gulf cartel’s abduction of the Americans in Matamoros was a case of mistaken identity.
One of the four Americans who entered Matamoros from Texas last Friday was due to get cosmetic surgery done in Mexico. But around midday, they were abducted and loaded into a truck in downtown Matamoros. A stray bullet killed a 33-year-old Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, during the showdown.
One of their friends had stayed back in Brownsville and reached out to the police when he was unable to connect with his friends in Mexico. The officers then followed protocol and checked local hospitals and jails for the missing Americans. Soon, a detective was assigned to the case and the FBI was alerted, which quickly took over the case once social media videos of the victims matching the description being shot started going viral.
They were located Tuesday morning on the outskirts of the city. A man was arrested, while Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard died in the attack. Williams and Latavia McGee managed to survive.
Hearses carrying the bodies of two Americans killed in Mexico left Matamoros for the United States Thursday.
Mexico travel warnings and advisory
The killings in Matamoros have sparked concerns among those planning to travel to Mexico. The US State Department has long had “do not travel” advisories in place for six Mexican states. This includes Tamaulipas, the state where Matamoros is located. Experts say that the killings happened in an area that is extremely far from the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico.
The State Department’s “reconsider travel” category includes seven Mexican states, while 17 are listed under “exercise increased caution.” The reason for the advisory in all three categories is listed as “crime and kidnapping”. Other advisories mention “crime” as the reason and ask people to either not travel, reconsider or exercise caution.
Meanwhile, the Canada-Mexico travel advisory has also been updated. Canadians travelling to Mexico have been asked to exercise a high degree of caution due to “high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping”.
People have been advised to avoid non-essential travel to certain regions in Mexico, including Chihuahua, Colima, except the city of Manzanillo, Durango, except Durango City, besides a few more places.
(With inputs from agencies)
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