CIUDAD VICTORIA, MEXICO — The Scorpions faction of the Gulf Cartel has claimed responsibility for the abduction of four Americans and the killing of two of them, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press from a Tamaulipas state law enforcement source.
The letter condemned the violence and stated that the gang had turned over its own members responsible for the incident to the authorities.
Drug cartels are known to use communiques to intimidate rivals and authorities, according to The Associated Press story, but also to engage in public relations to smooth over problems that could potentially impact their business.
“We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter read, claiming that these individuals had violated the cartel’s rules, including “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent.”
The letter was accompanied by a photograph of five men laying face down on the pavement and bound, according to the Associated Press.
An anonymous state security official said that the five men were found tied up inside one of the vehicles authorities had been trying to track down, along with the letter and photograph.
One of the victims’ cousins, Jerry Wallace, said that he was not about to accept any apologies from the cartel blamed for the kidnapping.
“It ain’t gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through,” he said according to the Associated Press.
Wallace called for both the United States and Mexican governments to work to better address cartel violence.
You can read Concealed Nation’s previous reporting of the Mexico Kidnappings here.