HARLINGEN, Texas (KVEO) — The U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs has issued a “do not travel” advisory for Mexico’s border state of Tamaulipas.
“Crime and kidnapping” are cited on the advisory.
Organized crime activity – including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, forced disappearances, extortion, and sexual assault – is common along the northern border and in Ciudad Victoria. Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments
The U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs Website
The advisory also mentions heavily armed groups patrol areas of Reynosa to Nuevo Laredo.
It adds law enforcement is more active in the area of Tampico, Ciudad Madero and Altamira. The tri-city area has a lower rate of violence than the rest of the state, said the advisory.
United States government employees can only travel to Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas around and between the U.S. Consulates in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros, their homes, the respective U.S. Ports of Entry, and limited downtown sites. They must also follow the curfew between midnight and 6 a.m.
“U.S. government employees may not travel between cities in Tamaulipas using interior Mexican highways. Travel between Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey is limited to Federal Highway 85D during daylight hours with prior authorization,” states the advisory.
To read the full list of travel advisories in the country of Mexico, click here.
The “do not travel” advisory to the state of Tamaulipas also follows the the Reynosa shooting that killed 15 bystanders.
The Associated Press reports there have been 8 more arrests in connection to the shooting.
Other states under a ‘do not travel’ advisory include Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan and Sinaloa.
