- The suspected members of a drug cartel in Mexico
are apologizing for the abduction
and killing of several American citizens,
and appear to have handed over five of their own henchmen
to authorities said to have been involved.
That's according to a Reuters source and local media.
Hearses carrying the bodies of the dead
are seen here under police guard before they
were repatriated Thursday.
The motive for the incident and exact timeline remain unclear.
It started on March 3rd, when gunmen in the border city
of Matamoros opened fire on a group of four Americans
shortly after their arrival in the area.
They were found days later in a cabin on the edge of the city,
but two were dead, identified as Shaeed
Woodard and Zindell Brown.
A Mexican source familiar with the investigation
says they likely died from wounds in the initial attack.
A Mexican woman was also killed.
Authorities initially said Monday
that the incident was likely a case of mistaken identity
and that the group had traveled to the city
because one of the members was planning
to have cosmetic surgery done there, citing
US officials and relatives.
An internal Mexican government documents seen by Reuters,
however, suggests a faction inside the Gulf cartel
was likely responsible, and that the authorities are
investigating the possibility that the cartel members may
have believed the Americans were encroaching on their turf
in drug trafficking.
At least three of the Americans had prior drug convictions
in the US, according to the document and public records
in South Carolina.
Some were minor, but one included manufacturing
cocaine and distributing it.
Mexican newspapers have published a letter attributed
to a different faction of the cartel, in which it apologizes
for the incident, including photos of the five henchmen
with their hands tied, although the Reuters
source is skeptical the men were involved.