10/03/2023
The tragic event involving four African Americans in Matamoros, Mexico has given rise to a number of theories and false narratives. One such theory suggests that the group was mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers by the Gulf Cartel. However, this is unlikely given the power dynamics in the region. A more plausible explanation is that the driver of the minivan panicked when approached by heavily-armed cartel members and attempted to flee, which led to a violent response from the cartel.
As a security expert pointed out, "[I]t sounds like the cartels had set up a checkpoint…that you had to go through them. And it sounds like the van tried to run past that. And that's when the cartels opened fire."
The group had entered Matamoros and was trying to locate a medical clinic but got lost and struggled to communicate with the office due to poor cellphone signal. They may have stopped to ask for directions or make a purchase at a pharmacy before encountering the cartel in the streets of Matamoros.
However, many questions remain unanswered, such as what happened in the two and a half hours before the four were shot at. Did they stop and get out of their vehicle to ask for directions or make a purchase at a pharmacy?
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers using this incident to bang the war drum. A Texas legislator proposed a bill that would give US authorities the right to enter Mexican territory as part of an assault on cartels, a proposal that would trample Mexican sovereignty. Senator Lindsey Graham suggested classifying Mexico's drug cartels as "foreign terrorist groups," which would set the stage for direct intervention in Mexico by US forces.
Many in Matamoros are feeling indignant with Mexico’s response to the disappearance of Mexican citizens. Volunteer search teams are forced to walk the deserts of northern Mexico with iron rods and shovels, looking for clandestine graves where the bodies of their relatives may have been buried.
As one volunteer search team member expressed, "we feel complete indignation, desperation, anguish, impotence and grief" at the authorities' failure to act when Mexican families suffer the disappearance of a relative.
