Five other people have been arrested in Mexico for the kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom were killed in the violent kidnapping.
The group of suspects was arrested Friday on charges including aggravated kidnapping and intentional homicide, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said. wrote on Twitter shortly before 11:30 a.m. local time.
A sixth person arrested earlier this week was also in custody in connection with the daytime kidnapping of Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.
The foursome traveled from South Carolina to the border city of Matamoros for a tummy tuck procedure, booked by McGee for March 3. Woodward and Brown were killed when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Williams was injured while McGee remained uninjured.
The four friends were then herded into the back of a truck and led away by the gunman. It took authorities several days to locate the group, all of whom, including the bodies of those killed, have returned to the United States.
The arrest announcement comes a day after the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel, the group believed to be responsible for the kidnappings, sent a letter to law enforcement condemning the violence, which they say was carried out by dishonest members.
“We have decided to deliver those who were directly involved and responsible for the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter says.
The note reportedly also came with an image of five men face down on the pavement with their hands tied. According to the Associated Press, they were found tied up inside a vehicle that authorities had previously linked to the deadly crime.
Attorney General Mojica did not say whether the men arrested Friday are the same ones the cartel turned in.
