Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area with a population of 636,516. The municipality has an area of . Both the city and the municipality rank as the third largest in the state. The city is connected to Laredo, United States by three international bridges and a rail bridge. The city is larger and younger than its US counterpart. As an indication of its economic importance, one of Mexico's banderas monumentales is in the city (these banderas have been established in state capitals and cities of significance). History Nuevo Laredo was part of the territory of the original settlement of Laredo (now in Texas) which was founded in 1755 by the Spaniard Don Tomás Sánchez in the northern part of the Rio Grande. The settlement's territory was granted to José de Escandón by the King of Spain, and the settlement's territory and population remained unified for ninety years, until the war of 1846–1848, the Mexican–American War. Early in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo divided the territory attached to Laredo between the United States (Texas) and Mexico (Tamaulipas). Nuevo Laredo was founded on June 15, 1848, by seventeen Laredo families who wished to remain Mexican and therefore moved to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. They identified with Mexico, its history, and its cultural customs, and decided to keep their Mexican citizenship. The founders of Nuevo Laredo even took with them the bones of their ancestors so they would continue to rest in Mexican ground. A shortage of natural gas led to blackouts in Texas and along the border during the February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm. Millions on both sides of the border were left without gas or electricity, heat or running water. Factories and restaurants were forced to close, and people lost their jobs. Mayor Enrique Rivas Cuéllar called upon the population not to panic. Also, as of February 19, 2021, Nuevo Laredo reported 4,714 cases of COVID-19. Drug-related violence As a border town, Nuevo Laredo is known for its turf war in which drug cartels compete for control of the drug trade into the United States. Nuevo Laredo is a