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The drug cartel responsible for the abduction of the four Americans — killing two — handed over five cartel members allegedly responsible for the inhumane act and an apology note to the victims and their families on Wednesday night.
According to the Associated Press, the Gulf cartel condemned the actions of five members in the letter, claiming they acted against cartel rules when they kidnapped four American citizens, killed two, and killed a mother with a stray bullet.
“…for this reason, we have decided to hand over those involved and directly responsible for the events,” the letter read, adding, “the CDG has always operated, respecting the life and integrity of the innocent.”
Along with the letter, five Gulf Cartel’s Scorpions Group members were tied up and left on the street for authorities to take them into custody.
The letter referred to the March 3 incident where Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard, Eric Williams and Latavia “Tay” McGee were abducted by cartel members a couple of hours after crossing the border in their rental car from South Carolina.
The four headed to Mexico to accompany McGee, who was expected to undergo cosmetic surgery (tummy tuck). A fifth member named Cheryl Orange was supposed to join the group but was denied entry for allegedly not having proper identification.
The cartel abductors reportedly mistook the Americans for Haitian drug smugglers despite their vehicle license plate reading South Carolina.
Additionally, Orange and the surviving American group members maintained that they were in Mexico for McGee’s tummy tuck procedure.
According to CNN, investigators also said that the victims didn’t have a concerning criminal history.
So, it’s unclear why the Daily Mail thought it would be okay to disrespect the victims by criminalizing them as if to justify the attack and murders instead of putting the same energy on the actual criminals that took lives.
News Onyx reported that the cartel members open-fired on the victims in broad daylight in Matamoros. A video captured the abductors forcing their victims into the bed of a white pickup truck while ruthlessly dragging the wounded bodies to shove them into the back of the truck.
A 33-year-old woman named Areli Pablo Servando was killed by a stray bullet a block from the incident.
They were found on Tuesday morning on the city outskirts in a stash house. While McGee and Williams were found alive, with Williams having a gunshot wound in the leg, Brown and Woodard were dead.
A cartel member was found with the victims and arrested at the house.
Medics treated McGee and Williams before returning them to the U.S. Brown and Woodard’s bodies were taken to the U.S. and are in American authorities’ possession.
Williams’ cousin, Jerry Wallace, refused to accept the cartel’s apology, stating it won’t change a thing.