Mexico indicts five men in kidnapping, deaths of Americans

Judge orders accused tried on kidnapping and homicide charges after drug gang handed them in to authorities in Matamoro.

Cellphone video from Matamoras, Mexico captures the kidnapping of four US citizens by armed men. Picture: Twitter

A Mexican judge has indicted five men turned in by a drug gang in the abduction of four Americans, two of whom were killed, in the violence-plagued city of Matamoros, said the top prosecutor in the border state of Tamaulipas.

Prosecutors in Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is located, formally arrested the five men on Friday. They had been left tied up the day before on a Matamoros street with a sign claiming they were responsible for kidnapping and killing the Americans.

The men were indicted Saturday on kidnapping and homicide charges, the state prosecutor, Irving Barrios, said on Tuesday. They have been detained in prison awaiting trial.

The March 3 incident strained ties between the two countries and led a handful of Republicans to reiterate their calls for the congress to pave the way for the US to take military action against the drug cartels within Mexico. US authorities are also investigating the kidnapping and killings and said they would bring those responsible to justice.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the calls from the US legislators and said Mexico will never accept such intervention. He also censured State Department alerts warning Americans not to travel to many parts of Mexico.

In a call on Monday, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the incident and bilateral security co-operation, the State Department said.

As many as 15 other people are believed to have participated in the kidnapping and killing of the Americans, said a senior Mexican official with knowledge of the investigation.

Split into several groups, the official said they followed the Americans for nearly an hour before the attack. One group intercepted the rented van the Americans were driving and shot at them. Another group hauled the Americans into a pick-up truck that left the scene before authorities arrived, the official said. A Mexican woman who was passing nearby was killed by a stray bullet.

Two of the Americans, Latavia McGee and Eric James Williams, were found alive on March 7 at a safe-house near Matamoros. Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard were found dead at the site.

The five men under arrest admitted to being involved in the incident but denied shooting any of the victims, state prosecutors said.

The five men had been left on Thursday next to a black pick-up truck along with weapons and a handwritten message that offered an apology to the victims, their families and to the city of Matamoros.

Some commentators have questioned the extent of the men’s involvement. “They are the scapegoats of the affair who the cartel gave up to deflect pressure,” said Alejandro Hope, an independent Mexico City security analyst and former intelligence official.

“At best it is a manipulation of the judicial process by the cartel, and at worst it shows coexistence between prosecutors and criminal groups.

“If the same thing had happened but with Mexicans, and had not been page-one news in the US, they never would have given up those guys.”

The state prosecutor has denied allegations of manipulation and said that there is enough evidence to indict the five men.

The four US citizens from South Carolina drove into Matamoros from Brownsville, Texas at 9.18am local time on March 3, and were attacked about 2½ hours later by armed men, according to Mexican authorities.

The motives behind the attack haven’t been determined. Mexican authorities have said that the main line of inquiry indicates the Americans were attacked by mistake.

Some contradictions have emerged during the inquiry. Ms McGee had a scheduled appointment for cosmetic surgery between 6.30am and 7.30am on March 3 at a clinic in Matamoros, according to clinic records seen by The Wall Street Journal. She paid a deposit on February 23, according to the records. But Mexican authorities say the four Americans entered Mexico at 918am. The attack happened at around 11.45am.

Relatives and friends have said Ms McGee travelled to Matamoros for a scheduled surgery with Roberto Chavez, a local doctor. They said the three men accompanied her because she needed drivers and help during her convalescence. Dr. Chavez didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.

A recent Mexican government study of crime in Tamaulipas said an array of gangs frequently clash in their efforts to control various criminal enterprises including extortion, drug and gasoline smuggling, and migrant trafficking.

The organisations include the Old School Zetas, and remnants of the Gulf Cartel which include the Metros, the Escorpiones, the Ciclones, and the Grupo Dragones. In nearby Nuevo Laredo, there are the Cartel X, and the Cartel del Noreste which has an enforcement arm called the Tropa del Infierno, or the Troops from Hell.

The Wall Street Journal