Four U.S. citizens were kidnapped Friday in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the border from Texas, according to the FBI.
The four Americans were not identified, but the feds said they were driving a white minivan with North Carolina plates.
“Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle,” the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said. “All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men.”
Matamoros sits in Tamaulipas state, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas, and about 250 miles south of San Antonio. The State Department advises Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas due to cartel violence.
“Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments,” according to the State Department advisory.
The Gulf Cartel used to control Matamoros, but the city is now a battleground between different factions of the splintered cartel. On Friday, the same day as the kidnapping, local authorities warned people to shelter in place due to shootouts throughout the city.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the hostages and the kidnappers’ arrest.