The state of Texas is warning Americans to avoid the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo over the July 4 independence day weekend, fearing that US citizens will be targeted.
State and local police have "received credible intelligence from multiple sources that indicates the Zetas Cartel is planning to target US citizens who travel to Nuevo Laredo this weekend," the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
Nuevo Laredo is located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas on the Rio Grande river, which serves as the international border, across from the Texas border city of Laredo.
"According to the information we have received, the Zetas are planning a possible surge in criminal activity, such as robberies, extortions, carjackings and vehicle theft, specifically against US citizens," DPS Director Steven McCraw said in the statement. "We urge US citizens to avoid travel to Nuevo Laredo this weekend."
"There is no indication that these cartel-related criminal activities will occur in Texas," the Texas statement read, "but the DPS and Webb County Sheriff's Office cannot discount the information received that supports possible crimes against US citizens in Nuevo Laredo and perhaps the surrounding Mexican suburbs."
The statement adds that state and local police "are fully prepared to respond to any criminal activity that occurs within Texas." |