Mexican Cartel Apologises For Attack On Americans In Matamoros, Bodies Sent To US

The members of the suspected drug cartel handed over five purported henchmen, who abducted four Americans in the border city of Matamoros, as a would-be apology for the incident.

National Guard and military vehicles take part in an operation to transfer two of the four US citizens kidnapped in Mexico's crime-ridden northeast, back to Brownsville in the US, after the other two were found dead, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas State, Mexico. As reports swirl around the recent kidnapping in Mexico of four Americans, two of whom were killed, one detail has drawn particular attention -- they had crossed the border for a medical procedure. The revelation threw a spotlight on the steady stream of so-called medical tourism from the United States to its southern neighbor, as Americans cross the border seeking lower costs or treatments inaccessible at home, despite risks.

Source : AFP

New Delhi: The members of the suspected drug cartel on Thursday handed over five purported henchmen who abducted four Americans in the border city of Matamoros. This move came as a would-be apology for the incident, as reported by the news agency Reuters citing sources familiar with the investigation. Two of the Americans and a Mexican woman were killed after the gunmen opened fire on the US citizens. The incident took place shortly after they arrived in Matamoros on Friday.

According to Reuters, the four Americans were found on the edge of the city on Monday and two of them were dead by that time. The two dead men were identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown. According to a Reuters witness, Mexican officials gave their bodies to the US. officials in Matamoros on Thursday afternoon, and they were taken across the border into the U.S.

According to an internal government document seen by Reuters, a faction of Mexico's Gulf Cartel was likely responsible for the kidnappings.

The photos of a letter published by Mexican newspapers and social media attributed to a different faction of the cartel in which it apologised for what happened in Matamoros, and said it was handing over five men who were involved in the kidnappings.

The photos showed that the letter was left alongside five men with their hands tied in Matamoros. The Mexican source familiar with the investigation confirmed the handover, expressing skepticism that the five were responsible for the attack, as reported by Reuters.

The attorney general's office of Tamaulipas, where Matamoros lies, refused to comment on the reports. The office said its investigation indicated that the kidnappers took the Americans to a clinic where they were given medical attention.

The evidence suggested Woodard and Brown had probably died from injuries they suffered during the attack in Matamoros, Reuters reported citing the Mexican source. Earlier this week, their two surviving companions returned to the U.S. Tamaulipas' attorney general on Monday said that the abduction of the four was likely a case of mistaken identity. However, the authorities have yet to clearly set out the reasons for the attack.