Americans Killed in Mexico: The Facts Accused Cartel’s Apology Letter

A drug-trafficking organization accused of kidnapping four Americans in Mexico, killing two of them, has distributed letters of apology and turned the accused criminals over to authorities, local media reported Thursday, without official confirmation.

• Read more: The deaths of two Americans in Mexico: What we know

Several Mexican media outlets published a letter attributed to the Gulf Cartel on Thursday, in which the organization “strongly condemns” the facts, “apologises” and says it has decided to hand over the perpetrators to the authorities.

The smugglers were operating without the authorization of their leaders, according to this alleged letter from the cartel.

The media also published a photo of the handwritten statement next to five people lying on their stomachs with their hands tied. However, the authorities did not confirm whether they were actually responsible for the kidnapping.

So far, Mexico’s attorney general’s office has announced the arrest of only one suspect who stood guard near the kidnappers.

Four Americans crossed the border driving a white minivan registered in North Carolina, were shot and then kidnapped by armed men in the border town of Matamoros. Mexican officials were quick to invoke the “misunderstanding” hypothesis.

Of the four kidnapped Americans, two died and two were later found, one with gunshot wounds and the other unharmed, on the outskirts of Matamoros. A Mexican national was also killed in the gunfight.

The bodies of the two dead Americans were returned to the United States on Thursday, officials said.