A Mexican drug cartel accused of kidnapping four Americans and killing two of them has said the killers acted alone and will be turned over to authorities, local media reported Thursday.
The four Americans had driven north from Mexico in a white minivan last week before gunmen shot and kidnapped them in the border city of Matamoros.
Two were found dead Tuesday, a third was found with gunshot wounds and another was uninjured. A Mexican bystander was also killed in the shooting.
Mexican authorities suggested that the kidnapping was the result of a “mix-up” rather than a targeted attack.
The victims visited Mexico because one of them was planning to undergo cosmetic surgery, a Mexican official said.
Along with Thursday’s letter, local media also published a photograph showing the handwritten note placed next to five men lying face down with their hands tied.
Mexican authorities have not confirmed whether these men were the suspects in the murders and kidnappings, or whether they have been turned over to authorities.
The prosecutor’s office reported the arrest of a suspect, who said he had been protecting the kidnapped Americans.
The two survivors were returned to the United States via a land border crossing between Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas.
The bodies of the two dead Americans were repatriated Thursday, authorities said.
