Mexico Indicts 5 Men Turned Over By Cartel For Killing Americans

Topline

A Mexican court indicted five men accused of kidnapping and killing Americans earlier this month, days after a wing of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel left the men tied up on a Matamoros street along with a sign blaming them for the killings, according to a local prosecutor, in an incident that has flamed tensions between the U.S. and its southern neighbor.

Key Facts

The men—who have only been identified by their given names and a last initial—have been charged with kidnapping and international homicide, the attorney general’s office in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas said in a statement.

Prosecutors and the cartel say the men carried out the attack and kidnapping on four Americans who crossed from Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros on March 3—killing two and injuring one, while a female bystander was also killed.

The men have acknowledged they were involved in the attack but claim they did not shoot the Americans, according to the Wall Street Journal.

What prompted the attack remains unclear, but an apology letter the cartel left alongside the tied up suspects suggested it was done by mistake.

What To Watch For

Prosecutors said the men will remain in custody for the next six months as the investigation proceeds.

Key Background

The Americans reportedly ventured into Mexico so the lone uninjured survivor—LaTavia Washington McGee—could get a tummy tuck cosmetic procedure, while three men traveled with her to drive and aid her recovery. The FBI said the Americans quickly found themselves under fire after crossing the border, and were pulled from their rental van into another vehicle that fled the scene. Authorities found the Americans four days later at a safe-house outside Matamoros, where two of the men—Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard—were found dead and Eric James Williams was discovered with gunshot wounds to his legs. Attorney General Merrick Garland has vowed the Justice Department will be “ruthless” in pursuing those responsible for the attack, though no one has been charged in the U.S. as of yet.

Tangent

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blasted Republican lawmakers last week after they suggested sending the U.S. military to Mexico to combat cartels, saying: “We are not a protectorate of the United States, nor a colony of the United States.” López Obrador on Monday also denounced a series of State Department travel advisories warning Americans to either not travel to or use increased caution when visiting 30 of Mexico’s 32 states, with only the Yucatan and Campeche states listed as areas where Americans can “exercise normal precautions.” The president insisted at a news conference that “Mexico is safer than the United States,” even though the country’s murder rate—28 per 100,000 people—is four times higher than the United States, according to the World Bank.

Further Reading

Two Americans Dead And Two Other Found Alive After Violent Kidnapping In Mexico (Forbes)

Mexico Arrests 5 For Deadly Kidnapping Of 4 Americans (Forbes)

Mexican Drug Cartel Reportedly Claims Responsbility—And Apologizes—For Abducting And Murdering Americans (Forbes)