Mexican authorities arrest 5 suspects turned over by cartel in deadly kidnapping of Americans last week

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Mexican authorities investigate cartel leader following attacks

 Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin has the latest on criminal attacks by Mexican cartels on ‘Special Report.’

Five suspects have been arrested in Mexico for the deadly kidnappings of four Americans who had crossed the border from Texas last week, a Mexican official confirmed on Friday.

The suspects were the same five men turned over Thursday by the Gulf Cartel, which they said were “responsible” for the slayings, according to France’s AFP new agency. 

“The [Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de Tamaulipas] completed an arrest warrant against 5 people linked to the events of March 3 in #Matamoros for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping and intentional simple homicide,” Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica wrote in a translated tweet on Friday. 

He added that a sixth suspect “arrested in recent days” has been linked to the kidnappings. 

MEXICAN CARTEL ‘APOLOGIZES’ IN LETTER FOR KIDNAPPING, MURDER OF AMERICANS, TURNS IN MEMBERS ‘RESPONSIBLE’

The Gulf Cartel on Thursday said it had turned over five members that the group insists were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Americans south of the border last week.  (Twitter)

On Thursday, the Gulf Cartel apologized for the kidnappings of four Americans and murders of two of them and one Mexican woman, saying they had turned those deemed “responsible” for the crimes over to the authorities. 

“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 cartel wrote in an apology letter obtained by the Associated Press that accompanied a photo of the five assumed suspects tied up face down on the ground. 

An unnamed state security official told The Associated Press five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. 

US ISSUES ‘DO NOT TRAVEL’ WARNING FOR PARTS OF MEXICO AS SPRING BREAK APPROACHES

Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, March 6, 2023.  (AP Photo)

Note allegedly left by the Gulf Cartel for Mexican authorities apologizing for the actions of some members it claimed were responsible for the kidnap and murder of Americans last week.  (Twitter)

Members of a Mexican cartel kidnapped four Americans who traveled across the border from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, last week. Two of the Americans and an innocent Mexican bystander died during the incident, according to U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar.

An internal government document reviewed by Reuters indicated Mexican law enforcement is pursuing an investigation into the possibility the kidnapping occurred because the cartel members believed the Americans had encroached on their turf.

The four Americans have been identified as LaTavia McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Eric Williams and Zindell Brown, all of South Carolina. The FBI has said it cannot identify the survivors, but McGee and Williams have been identified by their families as the survivors, and Mexican officials confirmed Woodard and Brown as the deceased. 

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U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday blamed the drug cartels for the incident, and he promised that the DEA and FBI “are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on.” 

The State Department didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.