For all those people who like Westerns.

For all those people who like Westerns with the good guys and bad guys engaged in combat in a lawless environment, I encourage you to take a trip to Nuevo Laredo. It has truly become that old west town of lawless disorder where the criminals roam the streets, sheriffs are shot, and the townspeople are scared. If you think you're Matt Dillon, or even a member of the posse, please apply at the Nuevo Laredo federales post. I'm sure they'd be glad to have you.

Let's see if you want to dress up like a cowboy after that.


Reuters

The United States is closing temporarily its consulate in this lawless Mexican border city after rival drug gangs clashed with bazookas, hand grenades and heavy machine-gun fire. ......

The latest battle erupted late on Thursday when about 30 masked gunmen opened fire on a suspected drug-cartel safe house in Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas, blasting off its doors and strafing the facade with bullets.

Police and witnesses said six men trapped in the house returned fire in a gun battle that raged for 20 minutes, littering the street with spent cartridges and sending neighbors diving for cover, although no one was killed.

"I grabbed my daughter tight ... and we hid under the bed until the explosions stopped," said one neighbor, who identified himself as Carlos. ......

Dozens of people, including 18 police officers, have been murdered here this year in a war between well-armed gangs from western Sinaloa state and the local Gulf cartel.