Cartel apology won’t ease wounds for kidnapped Americans

Lake City, South Carolina — Relatives of Americans kidnapped in Mexico Apology from Mexican cartels Even being blamed for the attack did little to ease the pain of having loved ones killed or injured.

In a letter obtained by the Associated Press through Tamaulipas state law enforcement officials, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf Cartel apologized to Matamoros residents. American kidnappeda Mexican woman who died in a cartel shootout, and four Americans and their families.

But later that day, the father of Shaeed Woodard, one of the two Americans who died, said he was speechless when he heard the cartel apologized for the violent kidnapping. capture on video It quickly spread online.

“I’ve been trying to figure it out all week. Just restless, can’t sleep, can’t eat. I don’t want my child to be taken from you in such a way, in such a violent way.” It’s just crazy to watch. He didn’t deserve it,” James Woodard told reporters on Thursday, referring to his son’s death.

A cousin of Eric Williams, who was shot in the left leg during the kidnapping, said his family feels “great” to know he’s alive but has not accepted an apology from the cartel.

“Nothing will change about the suffering we went through,” Jerry Wallace told The Associated Press on Thursday. I asked for

The letter, attributed to the cartel, condemned the violence and said the gang had handed over the responsible members to authorities.

“We have decided to extradite those who were directly involved in the incident, who took responsibility and who always acted under independent decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter reads, adding that these individuals are subject to the cartel’s rules. This includes “respecting the lives and well-being of innocent people.”

Drug cartels are known to issue communiqués to intimidate rivals and authorities, but in cases like this, public relations agencies try to smooth out situations that could affect their business. There is also activity. And last Friday’s riots in Matamoros negatively affected the cartel’s business.

The American’s killing prompted National Guard and Army special forces to run patrols and “heat up the square” in drug parlance, said Mexican security analyst David Saucedo.

“It is very difficult right now for them to continue to work on street-level drug sales and the transfer of drugs to the United States. Saucedo said.

The letter was accompanied by a photograph of five men who had been detained face down in the street.

State officials did not immediately publicly acknowledge that the new suspects were in custody.

A security official in another state said five men were found detained with the letter in one of the vehicles that authorities were searching. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the incident.

Last Friday, four Americans crossed from Texas to Matamoros, one of them do cosmetic surgeryAround noon they were set on fire in downtown Matamoros and loaded into a pickup truck. Areli Pablo Servando, a 33-year-old Mexican woman, was also killed by a stray bullet.

Another friend who remained in Brownsville said, call the police After failing to reach the cross-border group on Friday morning. Authorities found them on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday morning guarded by the arrested man. Gindel Brown and Shade Woodard were killed in the attack. Williams and LaTavia McGee survived.

On Thursday, two hearses carrying the bodies of Woodard and Brown crossed the International Bridge to Brownsville, where they were turned over to U.S. authorities.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson of Mexico City and Acacia Coronado of Austin, Texas.