Alleged Perpetrators of Mexico Attack Found Bound, Face-Down on Street

Five men allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of four Americans in the Mexican city of Matamoros, which ended with two Americans and one Mexican woman dead, were found with their hands bound, heads covered with their shirts, face-down on a street in Matamoros. There was a letter with them claiming to be from the drug cartel that controls much of Tamaulipas state, the Guardian reports. "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,” reads the letter claiming to be from the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel. Mexican authorities believe the kidnappings were likely a case of mistaken identity.

The letter says the men who were dumped on the street acted in violation of the rules of the cartel, which include “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent," but it's not yet clear whether the men have been officially linked to the abductions and murders. Sources tell CNN that investigators believe the letter, which included apologies to the four Americans and their families, the Mexican woman who was killed by a stray bullet, and the entire city of Matamoros, is authentic. As for the possible motivation behind it, a Mexican security analyst explains to the AP that with National Guard troops and Army special forces now carrying out patrols in the area, it's hard for the cartel "to continue working in terms of street-level drug sales and transferring drugs to the United States; they are the first ones interested in closing this chapter as soon as possible." (More Mexico stories.)