The dark agenda behind the Gulf Cartel's apology for the deadly kidnapping of Americans in Matamoros

By Corky Siemaszko -

The unprecedented written apology of the Gulf Cartel for the kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros (Tamaulipas, Mexico) and the murder of two of them is probably an attempt by the criminal organization to "calm down" to continue "operating with impunity". experts told NBC News.

Although the Gulf Cartel does not run the Mexican city of Matamoros — across the border south of Brownsville, Texas — where the group was kidnapped last week, it does rule the streets, according to experts.

"I wouldn't say that the Gulf Cartel is the de facto government in this part of Mexico, but they certainly act with impunity, and most of the time

," said Andrew Rudman, director of the Institute for Mexico at the Wilson Center, a

in Washington, DC

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

The cartel condemned the violence in a letter obtained by The Associated Press news agency and assured that it had handed over the perpetrators of the crime.

A senior official told NBC News, the sister network of Noticias Telemundo, that US authorities believe

“The Cartel del Golfo Grupo Escorpiones (a faction of the cartel) strongly reproves the events (sic) of last Friday, March 3, where (sic) an innocent (sic) working mother (sic) died and 4 American citizens were kidnapped, of which 2 died, ”says the letter.

"For this reason, we (sic) have decided to hand over those directly involved and responsible for the events (sic) who at all (sic) times acted under their own determination and indiscipline and against the (sic) rules in which 'the CDG' (sic) ) always operated", they sentenced.

From the kidnapping-murder to the apology of the drug traffickers: the unexpected twist in the case of the Americans in Matamoros

March 9, 202302:29

An official with knowledge of the case said that a woman from the group of Americans who traveled to Mexico planned to undergo an aesthetic medical procedure and that the cartel hitmen took the group by mistake, after confusing their identities.

“The last thing they want is this kind of attention”

The Gulf Cartel, Rudman said, crossed a delicate line with the deadly kidnapping and stoked the anger of the US government, generating an incident that made international headlines.

“My guess is that by apologizing and turning over some people,

,” Rudman said.

"It remains to be seen if these are the real suspects or scapegoats."

[The Tamaulipas Prosecutor's Office accuses six detainees of the kidnapping and murder of young Americans in Matamoros]

“I have never heard of a cartel apologizing or turning over suspects

,” said Austin Ricardo Ainslie, a University of Texas professor and author of the 2007 documentary

.

“I suspect that because of the kidnappings, they are under extreme pressure, and not just from the federal and state (Mexican) authorities,” Ainslie explained.

Cartels like the Gulf

, Ainslie lamented.

“The last thing they want is this kind of attention,” she added.

They point to 'Los Escorpiones' as responsible for the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico

March 10, 202300:34

The Gulf Cartel is especially wary of a direct confrontation with US authorities, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on Mexican cartels at the Brookings Institution think tank and author of Narco Noir: Mexico's Cartels, Cops, and Corruption

How did the US take the “apology”?

The disappearance of the four Americans prompted a swift response from US and Mexican authorities, who located the two fatalities and two survivors on Tuesday.

This type of rapid reaction, according to relatives of Mexicans kidnapped by the cartels, rarely occurs when their loved ones disappear.

“This would not have happened if the kidnapping and murders did not involve Americans,” Felbab-Brown said.

“

, but this group knows that the United States has enormous deterrence, investigation and prosecution capabilities.”

In 2010, when allies of a Mexican cartel murdered US consular workers in Ciudad Juárez, then-President Barack Obama sent hundreds of investigators and, with the help of Mexican authorities, were able to track down the culprits.

“The Mexican government doesn't have these kinds of resources and the cartels know it,” Felbab-Brown explained.

"So when the Gulf Cartel realized their men's mistake in capturing Americans, they decided it would be wiser to turn them in and apologize."

[Nine dead and 15 arrested after violent day in Michoacán, Mexico]

The apology appears to have fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Friday.

“The protection of American citizens is the priority of the president (Joe Biden).

Anyone responsible for killing or harming American citizens will face the full weight of the United States government, and that includes a cartel and its members."

Doubts about the authenticity of the “apology”

Before the incident, the Gulf Cartel, which operates mostly in northeastern Mexico, in the states of Tamaulipas and Zacatecas, was struggling not to fragment and faced competition from rival gangs, according to a report by the Council last year. Of Foreign Affairs.

The experts were consulted the same day that Irving Barrios Mojica, attorney general of the state of Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is located, announced that five people linked to the deadly kidnappings had been charged with aggravated kidnapping and intentional homicide.

It is not clear if these are the same people that the Gulf Cartel said it had handed over to local authorities.

“They could be men who were coerced by the Gulf Cartel to admit their involvement in this,” Ainslie said.

The five men the cartel handed over as allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and murder of four Americans.NBC News

Or it could be five men with no ties to this cartel, said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on organized crime and US-Mexico security cooperation at the University of California, San Diego.

The expert

and taking it literally.

“Even if we assume that it was a criminal group that wrote the message, the measure is not necessarily to save face and it may not even be the criminal group that perpetrated the violence,” Farfán-Méndez said in an email to NBC News. .

“Without a doubt the kidnapping of four US citizens, and the murder of two,

.

And as tempting as it may be to tell this story as a criminal group that made a mistake, I would advise caution against such simplistic narratives,” he said.