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On Thursday night in Matamoros, Mexico, five men were bound and handed over to law enforcement with a note stating that they were responsible for the kidnapping of the three Americans and a Mexican woman, and the death of two of those Americans. Couple this with Mexico’s President Andrés López Obrador blaming the United States for its own fentanyl woes (he’s half right), and you have a classic case of distraction and misdirection.

So, consider this the Bright and Shiny Object report.

From Reuters:

Suspected drug cartel members on Thursday handed over five purported henchmen as a would-be apology for the abduction of four Americans in the border city of Matamoros, according to media and a source familiar with the investigation.

Two of the Americans and a Mexican woman died after gunmen opened fire on the U.S. citizens shortly after their arrival in Matamoros on Friday. The four Americans were found on Monday on the edge of the city, by which time two of them were dead.

Mexican officials gave the bodies of the two dead men, identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, to U.S. officials in Matamoros on Thursday afternoon, and they were taken across the border into the U.S., a Reuters witness said.

An internal government document seen by Reuters indicated that a faction of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel was likely responsible for the kidnappings and that the gunmen may have believed that the Americans were encroaching on the gang’s turf.

It was also reported by Mexican authorities that a letter was included in this handoff, identifying the five men and apologizing for the deaths of the Americans.

Whut?!

Lastnight 5 handcuffed men were adandoned in the streets of Matamoros with them a message in which the Gulf Cartel accuses them of having participated in the kidnapping of Americans and apologizes for the death of three people, including a Mexican per source pic.twitter.com/37doSnJ2cP

— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) March 9, 2023

A good citizen translated the last part of the letter:

End of letter translates:
“To the families impacted & the American people, you can be sure that these grave errors, due to lack of discipline will not be repeated & those responsible will pay; regardless of who they may be.”

— Señor Nicholas (@NickMorenoLive) March 9, 2023

“To the families impacted & the American people, you can be sure that these grave errors, due to lack of discipline will not be repeated & those responsible will pay; regardless of who they may be.”

Apologies and damage control are not the brand of Mexican drug cartels. Oh, they may take credit, but for the most part, they just rape, pillage, and keep on keeping on. The fact that these men were handed over is an indication that they are dead weight to somebody and therefore needed to be removed. What better way to remove them than to make them the Americans’ problem? While border patrol and local LEOs are chasing their tail, the cartels can continue to do business as usual… or maybe business as unusual.

As Buffalo Springfield sang, There’s something happenin’ here and what it is ain’t exactly clear. But mark my words: there is something more going down than the cartels and the Mexican government is letting on, and they want the heat off so that the parties involved can continue their dirty work. This is Mexico, so nine times out of 10, it’s always dirty work. Consider this Mexico’s version of “nada que ver aquí… continúa.”*

The attorney general’s office of Tamaulipas, the state where Matamoros lies, declined to comment on the reports.

Separately, the state attorney general’s office said its investigation indicated that the Americans were taken by their kidnappers to a clinic where they were given medical attention.

The Mexican source said the evidence suggested Woodard and Brown had probably died from injuries they suffered during the attack by the gunmen in Matamoros on Friday. Their two surviving companions returned to the U.S. earlier this week.

It will be interesting to see if any local U.S. law enforcement continues the investigation and digs deeper. Sadly, we have a U.S. Border Patrol whose hands are tied, and a Secretary of Homeland Security who has expressed zero interest in securing the border, let alone pursuing actual criminality that compromises U.S. security and interests.

*My Google translate attempt at, "nothing to see here... carry on."