Gun Used In Cartel Killing Of Americans In Mexico Traced To Texas Man

Gun Used In Cartel Killing Of Americans In Mexico Traced To Texas Man

Jennie Taer on March 21, 2023

The gun used in the cartel killing of two Americans in Matamoros, Mexico, is allegedly tied to a Texas man, according to a March 18 criminal complaint.

Federal authorities belonging to the Department of Homeland Security and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Roberto Lugardo-Moreno of the Rio Grande Valley over the weekend after he admitted to purchasing guns for a Gulf Cartel member in Mexico, according to the complaint. Members of the Gulf Cartel kidnapped a group of four Americans traveling through Matamoros, killing two of them.

The cartel is known for its drug trafficking operations and for corrupting law enforcement authorities, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Rio Grande Valley is situated along the U.S. border with Mexico.

(Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Lugaro-Moreno said he bought a Diamondback Arms DB 15-multi caliber AR style weapon on Oct. 17, 2019, according to the complaint. The firearm’s serial number matched that of the weapon used in the recent killings.

He said he was paid $100 to purchase the gun, according to the complaint.

The American victims of the recent attack were traveling from South Carolina for one member of the group to get a tummy tuck. Gunmen began firing upon the group, placing them in a vehicle before armed men drove them away from the scene, accordingto the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

The Gulf Cartel’s Scorpions faction later wrote an apology to the residents of Matamoros and turned over its members responsible for the attack, the Associated Press previously reported.

The State Department warns Americans against traveling to Matamoros, considering it a “Level 4” area due to “crime and kidnapping.”