But conflict has flared in Tamaulipas over the past 15 years as the incumbent Gulf Cartel – founded in Matamoros – fragmented, starting with its notoriously violent armed wing, Los Zetas.

The state of Tamaulipas may not top Mexico's violence rankings, but the Gulf Cartel's fragmentation is raising concerns.

The FBI announced that four Americans who traveled from Texas across the border to Tamaulipas, Mexico, are missing after they were shot at and possibly kidnapped.

Residents in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, will soon be able to shop at a market that looks distinctly like the famed Texas gas station and country store Buc-ee’s.

Four Americans, one woman and three men, enter Matamoros in a white Chrysler Pacifica minivan with North Carolina license plates after crossing the border at Brownsville.

Four U.S. citizens were kidnapped after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the northern Mexico border city of Matamoros, the FBI said Sunday, March 5, 2023.

The abduction took place on the streets of Matamoros, Mexico. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of the Americans and the arrests of those involved.

Associated Press Two of four Americans abducted after crossing Mexico border at Matamoros found dead: Tamaulipas state governor A relative of one of the Americans believed to have been kidnapped ...

Two other U.S. citizens were rescued in the city of Matamoros after a trip across the border for cosmetic surgery turned deadly following an ambush and kidnapping.

The brutal kidnapping of four Americans in the Mexican border city of Matamoros on March 3 horrified the public. Grim news followed when two of the victims were found murdered.

They crossed into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in their white minivan, according to the US Embassy & Consulates in Mexico.

Soon after the US citizens drove into the border city of Matamoros, Mexico they were fired upon and taken from the scene by armed men. The FBI is working to find the missing Americans.