Laredo–Nuevo Laredo (UN/LOCODE: USLRD & MXNLD) is one of six transborder agglomerations along the U.S.-Mexican border. The city of Laredo is situated in the U.S. state of Texas on the northern bank of the Rio Grande and Nuevo Laredo is located in the Mexican State of Tamaulipas in the southern bank of the river. This area is also known as the Two Laredos or the Laredo Borderplex. The area is made up of one county: Webb County in Texas and three municipalities: Nuevo Laredo Municipality in Tamaulipas, Hidalgo Municipality in Coahuila, Anáhuac Municipality in Nuevo León in Mexico. Two urban areas: the Laredo Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Zona Metropolitana Nuevo Laredo (Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Zone) three cities and 12 towns make the Laredo–Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan area which has a total of 636,516 inhabitants according to the INEGI Census of 2010 and the United States Census estimate of 2010. The Laredo–Nuevo Laredo is connected by four International Bridges and an International Railway Bridge. According to World Gazetteer this urban agglomeration ranked 157th largest in North and South America in 2010 with an estimated population of 775,481. This area ranks 66th in the United States and 23rd in Mexico. Populated Places Laredo–Nuevo Laredo area is formed by the following populated places: Urban Areas Nuevo Laredo: 425,058 Laredo: 259,151 Cities Texas Río Bravo: 5,553 El Cenizo: 3,545 Tamaulipas Campanario: 4,538 Towns Texas Laredo Ranchettes: 1,845 Larga Vista: 742 Penitas West: 520 La Presa: 508 Coahuila Hidalgo: 1,638 Tamaulipas Álvarez: 1,257 Nuevo Progreso: 393 América: 263 América II: 253 Los Artistas: 175 Miguel Alemán: 165 La Cruz: 100 Nuevo León Colombia: 541 History Villa de San Agustin de Laredo was founded in 1755 by Don Tomas Sanchez while the area was part of a region called Nuevo Santander in the Spanish colony of New Spain. Villa de San Agustin de Laredo got its name from Laredo, Cantabria, Spain and in honor of Saint Augustine of Hippo. In 1840, Laredo was the capital of the independent Republic of the Rio Grande, set up in rebellion to the dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna and brought back into Mexico by military force. In 1846, during the Mexican–American War the town was occupied by the Texas Rangers. After the war the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ceded the land to the United States. A referendum was taken in the town, which voted overwhelmingly to petition the American