They find five men handcuffed with a message that links them to the kidnapping of the four Americans in Matamoros

The Mexican authorities found five men handcuffed this Thursday in the center of the city of Matamoros, in the border state of Tamaulipas, with a message in which the Gulf Cartel allegedly pointed them out as responsible for the kidnapping of four young Americans last week. and the murder of two of them, as confirmed to Telemundo News by an official source who did not want to be publicly identified.

A faction of the cartel called Grupo Escorpio expressed in that message its "condemnation" and extended its "apology" for the kidnapping, which also ended the life of a Mexican woman, killed by a stray bullet during the armed assault.

Along with the five men, between the ages of 21 and 38 and who have not been officially identified, several weapons were found, according to the aforementioned source.

The five men accused of participating in the kidnapping of the four Americans were found handcuffed in the city of Matamoros, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.Noticias Telemundo

The five men supposedly handed over to the authorities have not yet testified before the state Prosecutor's Office, according to the newspaper Milenio, although the latter already has the truck next to which they were found in its premises, according to El Universal.

This newspaper also indicates that the authorities found an ambulance in which the young people were allegedly taken after being kidnapped.

The four Americans, childhood friends, were abducted on March 3 after crossing from Texas to Matamoros, supposedly for one of them to undergo a cosmetic operation, a type of medical tourism popular for offering Mexico treatments and services at affordable prices. cheaper than in the US.

[Cosmetic surgery in Mexico: cheaper prices but risks that go beyond even the operating table]

Four days later, two of the youths were found dead, one with gunshot wounds and the fourth unharmed, after a large operation by the Mexican authorities through one of the most violent areas of the country, whose territory is disputed by drug cartels. .

The alleged apology of the Gulf Cartel would confirm the main line of investigation of the Tamaulipas Prosecutor's Office: that the incident was the result of a mix-up, and the four Americans were kidnapped by mistake, as stated by prosecutor Irving Barrios last Tuesday in a press conference quoted by the newspaper El País.

Images of the place where the four kidnapped US citizens were found in Matamoros, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Hector Vivas / Getty Images

Barrios did not want to clarify whether the attackers confused them with Haitian migrants who had managed to escape from one of the human trafficking networks operating in the area or with Haitian traffickers, a hypothesis that has been reported in the local press.

The authorities have not offered any further details about the arrest of a man identified as José Guadalupe, 24, who allegedly guarded the wooden hut where the four Americans were found.

[Mexico quickly found the Americans, but there are 100,000 missing]

The investigation must also clarify how the police reached the Americans.

The governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, indicated Tuesday at a press conference that the authorities activated a telephone number and an email to receive clues, but did not specify if they received any decisive information.

The bodies of the two Americans will be repatriated this Thursday to Texas after being analyzed by forensics in Mexico, and the state authorities will deliver them to their families.