State Department warns Americans to avoid Mexican border city due to increasing violence

The State Department is warning Americans not to travel to a city just over the border from Texas due to reports of "violent criminal activity." 

The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico said that it has received "reports of violent criminal activity, including roadblocks in Reynosa. U.S. government employees have been ordered to avoid the greater Reynosa area." 

The State Department has placed a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" warning on the entire state of Tamaulipas in northeast Mexico, where Reynosa is located, due to the risk of violence from cartels, gangs and criminal organizations. 

The warning for Reynosa, near the Gulf of America and South Padre Island, follows reports by AFP that a notorious Mexican criminal gang leader, identified as Alexander N, was captured in the city. The individual is alleged to lead a faction of the Gulf Cartel, known as Metros.