Four United States citizens have been kidnapped after a group of gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the border city of Matamoros just south of the United States.
The FBI said the group had entered Matamoros through Brownsville, Texas, on Friday. They had travelled in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.
The vehicle came under fire shortly after entering Mexican territory, according to an investigation being done by the San Antonio FBI office.
‘All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men,’ said the office.
The Gateway International bridge spans the Rio Grande in the border town of Matamoros, Mexico
A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the US State Department currently has listed under its most severe ‘do not travel’ category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and the apprehension of the culprits.
Matamoros is known to be a territory occupied in part by battling factions of the Gulf dug cartels.
Shootouts between gangs in Matamoros have become so treacherous that the U.S. Consulate issued a warning about the danger on Friday.
Tamaulipas state police said people had been killed and injured Friday, but did not say how many.
Matamoros is located in one of the six Mexican states the US State currently has listed under its most severe ‘do not travel’ category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists.
