The Trump administration has intensified security measures at the southern border to address illegal immigration. In response to this, the State Department has issued a significant travel warning for an area in northeastern Mexico near McAllen and Brownsville, Texas.
Amid gun battles, kidnappings and other crime, the State Department is also warning of IEDs on dirt roads in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
The State Department’s travel advisory for Tamaulipas highlights a caution from the state authorities regarding the presence of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These hazardous devices have been discovered in areas such as Reynosa, Rio Bravo, Valle Hermoso, and San Fernando along less-traveled routes in the region. It is stated that criminal groups in this area are increasingly manufacturing and using IEDs.
According to the advisory issued by the U.S. Consulate in Mexico, an IED incident occurred in Rio Bravo on January 23, resulting in the destruction of a Mexican government vehicle and injury to the occupant.
A Spanish flier published by the Tamaulipas government on Facebook urges the public not to touch or move suspicious-looking devices along the roadside.
The State Department noted in its advisory that heavily armed criminal groups often target certain areas and target “public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments.”
The Level 4 warning comes as the Trump administration begins its crackdown on illegal immigration and crime at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Brown compared the level of violence in Tamaulipas to the Middle East.
“We think of the Middle East as extremely violent, wouldn’t want to go there, but all we have to do is look towards Mexico.”
“[It] wasn’t that long ago before [the] Sinaloa Cartel was executing police officers and hanging them from bridges,” Brown said. “Now, we didn’t even see that level of violence in Afghanistan when I was there. So, the cartels have taken violence to a whole other level. They are acting just like any terrorist organization. The only difference is their end goal is to make money. That’s their ideology.”
A member of the Mexican Navy stands guard as a temporary shelter is built on the border in Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, on Jan. 22, 2025, ahead of President Donald Trump’s promised deportations. (QUETZALLI BLANCO/AFP)
Officials deported around 2,000 illegal immigrants to Mexico last Thursday, both on the ground and in the air. Mexican officials detained roughly 5,000 migrants within its borders, Fox News reported.
Trump also ordered 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border to boost the military presence there.
Fox News’ Micharl Dorgan and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
