Official at the US consulate in Matamoros, a Mexican border town, were instructed to ‘shelter in place’ Monday as gun violence linked to the country’s drug cartels surrounded them.
Matamoros, a city right across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, is where four Americans were kidnapped, two of whom were murdered, earlier this year after apparently being mistaken by the local gangs for rivals of the drug cartels.
The Labor Day lockdown was reportedly triggered by the killing of four people in a shootout with the Mexican military in the city.
A Monday tweet from the consulate read: ‘US Consulate General Matamoros employees are currently under a shelter-in-place order until 1:30 p.m. in Matamoros due to gun violence occurring in the city.’
‘We recommend you shelter in place and stay tuned to local news for updates in your area.’
Officials at the US Consulate in Matamoros, Mexico were told to shelter in place Monday as fatal gunfire broke out in the surrounding area
The altercation, which reportedly left four people dead, was between a member of the Mexican military stationed in Matamoros, largely considered to be one of the most dangerous areas in Mexico
The shooters engaged with a Mexican marine patrolman, and authorities later recovered guns and tactical gear from the scene, according to a state official.
The Gulf Cartel, a drug trafficking and crime syndicate, is based out of Matamoros.
The Jalisco Cartel New Generation also has a presence in the city.
Back in March, when the American tourists were captured and two were killed, the Gulf Cartel acknowledged that several of its members played a role in the crime and apologized in a letter to the Mexican police.
The group additionally turned in five of its members who said they were responsible for the March 3 killings.
The FBI said the group of medical tourists entered Matamoros through Brownsville, Texas. They had travelled in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.
They became caught in the crossfire between two armed groups, according to Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The vehicle came under fire shortly after entering Mexican territory, according to an investigation by the San Antonio FBI office.
A woman who witnessed the kidnapping told The Associated Press that the mini van was crashed into by another vehicle at an intersection before shots were fired at it.
An SUV then then arrived from which several men emerged.
‘All of a sudden they (the gunmen) were in front of us,’ she said. ‘I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, `if we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.”
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
In recent years Matamoros has been plagued by violence linked to drug trafficking operations.
Matamoros is located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, considered one of the most dangerous territories in the country.
It is currently one of six states in Mexico listed under a ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ advisory by the US State Department due to the high levels of crime and kidnapping.