Arrests have been made after the high-profile kidnappings of four U.S. citizens in Mexico. One person was arrested Tuesday, and five more people have since been arrested, according to Mexican authorities on Friday.
The arrests follow an apology letter reportedly from a drug cartel who says its members “acted under their own determination and indiscipline” against the “rules” of the cartel. The cartel, Scorpion Group, turned in the five members involved to local police in Matamoros, Mexico.
The bizarre and tragic incident transpired after four U.S. citizens traveled to the city for a friend’s medical procedure. Minutes away from the medical office, the group of friends were shot at and kidnapped, which was captured in a troubling video that circulated widely before the arrests.
In the unusual case– which also claimed the life of a Mexican woman during the shootout– authorities believe the U.S. travelers, who were all Black American, were assumed to be Haitian drug smugglers on enemy turf.
Two of the victims– Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown– were found dead and another, Eric Williams was wounded. They had joined their friend LaTavia Washington McGee on the trip, who survived uninjured.
“That was so hard for me to see those videos and see him dragged and thrown on the back of the vehicle,” Woodards’ father told CNN Thursday. It would have been Woodard’s 34th birthday. “He was a baby and for him to be taken from me like that was very hurtful. My family is hurt real bad because he was so lovable. He had the biggest heart,” his father continued.
The bodies of Woodard and Brown– who was Washington McGee’s cousin and raised together like siblings– have been delivered to US diplomatic authorities and will likely be transported to a Brownsville, Texas funeral home.