Cartel members reportedly fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition into vehicles owned by Mormons and then set them on fire in a sickening revenge attack.
Nine people were killed in the massacre in November 2019, including Rhonita Miller and her four children, Howard, 12, Krystal, 10, and infant twins Titus and Tiana.
A federal judge in the US ruled the cartel must now pay $1.5billion (£1.3bn) to the families of the victims after they filed a lawsuit accusing them of carrying out the attack in revenge for public criticism.
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US Magistrate Judge Clare Hochhalter’s award will be automatically tripled under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act, potentially increasing the amount to $4.6bn.
Mexican authorities said in 2020 that the mastermind of the attack was one of 17 people arrested.
The Bismarck Tribune reported that the cartel did not respond to a published summons or have representation at a trial in North Dakota in March.
Dawna Langford, 43, Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 29 and her children Trevor, 11, and Rogan were also among the victims of the slayings.
The surviving family members reportedly included two widowers of women killed who were working in North Dakota at the time the suit was filed.
Their lawyer said various family members were living in the state and working in the oil industry while travelling to and from Mexico.
David Langford, one of the victim's fathers, said: “We went into a United States courtroom in North Dakota seeking some acknowledgement of and measure of justice for the trauma inflicted on our family and we received it”
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