FBI searches for two Americans missing in Mexico as cartel violence surges in border town

Two brothers from Brownsville, Texas have gone missing in an area of Mexico that has witnessed a sudden rise in cartel violence. The two brothers vanished after driving to Matamoros, in the state of Tamaulipas, on Sunday to visit their grandmother, according to the Brownsville police. The wife of one man, Ernesto Garcia, filed a missing persons report earlier this week and Mexican police have been searching for the vehicle the men were traveling in. The FBI has also become involved in the search. “I don’t understand what it is going to take for the administrations in Mexico City and Washington, D.C., to take action to address the violence in Tamaulipas,” U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville told the Houston Chronicle. “More killings? More kidnappings? More missing Americans?” This week, Matamoros and the towns along the Rio Grande north to Reynosa have been put on edge by rolling gunbattles between the rival cartel factions. A total of 15 people have reportedly been killed. Among the injured was a local newspaper editor...more