“Socalj” for Borderland Beat

The five men handed over by the Grupo Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel have confessed to their responsibility for the killing of two and kidnapping of two other Americans in Matamoros. The FBI also has an open investigation into the incident.

The FGR has indicted the five people arrested for their alleged participation after they confessed their responsibility before the prosecution. The FGR stated that the men have had proper legal representation during their process of admitting their guilt.

The arrested men were handed over by the Gulf Cartel, specifically by the Grupo Escorpiones faction, which is held responsible. The alleged members of the group were tied up in the middle of the street, in Matamoros, next to a truck with a narco manta apologizing for the events that occurred, assuring that the gunmen “at all times they acted under their own determination and indiscipline.”

“Due to the conditions in which five men were found in Matamoros, along with a vehicle and a piece of cardboard, they were initially treated as crime victims, but this quality changed to defendants when they began to report their participation in the events of last March 3, when four American citizens were deprived of their liberty and a young Mexican woman died,” reads a statement from the Tamaulipas Public Ministry.

However, it has been pointed out that one of the sicarios seen in the video of the aftermath of the shooting and the kidnapping of the two survivors might not be among those handed over to authorities. Seen in a white shirt and tactical vest, a heavy-set man does not match the body type of any of the five men who have confessed to the attack.

Victim’s Past Convictions

While Latavia Washington McGee held a cosmetic surgery appointment on the day of her kidnapping in Mexico, the victims have lengthy past criminal records for various charges including manufacturing, trafficking, and selling narcotics, domestic violence, and possessing weapons in the US.

According to the Arrests.org portal, Woodard and Brown were arrested several times in Florence County, South Carolina. On September 28, 2022, Woodard was arrested for distributing and selling crack cocaine outside a school. Three months later, he was arrested again on similar charges, while in 2019 he was also arrested for violating his probation.

Brown, in turn, was arrested for possession of cocaine, marijuana, and hashish on June 17, 2015, and on July 21, 2019, he was arrested for domestic violence.

Willams also has a criminal record for selling drugs near a school.

Latavia McGee, a mother of six children has been arrested several times in recent years. The last arrest was on January 20, 2022, for illegal conduct toward a minor, when her 8-year-old daughter tested positive for amphetamines.

Areli Pablo Servando, a Mexican citizen was also killed during the shootout and kidnapping.

The Forgotten Victim

Areli Pablo Servando, 33 years old, is the Mexican woman who died from a stray bullet on Friday, March 3 during the shootout and kidnapping of four US citizens, two of whom were later rescued by Mexican authorities.
Relatives and friends are outraged by the way in which the young woman has been ignored by authorities in Mexico and Tamaulipas, who have not even mentioned her name in the count of the people affected in the fateful shooting that occurred on Primera and Lauro Villar streets, from that border. International media also has seemed to treat Areli as a side note with the main focus being on the four Americans.