A federation of business groups in Tamaulipas has issued an alert in response to a big increase in kidnappings in border cities, calling for urgent intervention by the government.

Federation president Julio César Almanza Armas described the border city of Matamoros as a “red zone,” as kidnappings there have risen sharply in the last two weeks.

“The Matamoros Chamber of Commerce is aware of actions against some businesspeople, professionals, who have been kidnapped in the last two or three months, and that is worrying,” said Almanza.

He also implored businesspeople in the most affected cities to take additional precautions and be more careful with their routines and schedules as much as possible, emphasizing that criminal groups no longer make distinctions between economic classes, putting all of society at risk.

Among the kidnapping victims are a well-known local doctor, manufacturing plant supervisors, business owners and female students who have disappeared during daylight hours in busy areas. In some cases, victims have been released following several days of captivity but relatives did not wish to reveal ransom terms, if any, reported Breitbart Texas.

Almanza mentioned a rumor about a possible criminal gang-imposed curfew that recently made the rounds on social media in Matamoros.

“There is a difficult situation, such as the one on social media last night, when people talked about a curfew at 8:00pm,” he said, although the claim was refuted by the local government.

Citizens in Matamoros have called for a demonstration on Saturday in the town’s main square to raise awareness of the kidnappings and overall insecurity in the city.

Sources: Milenio (sp), Posta (sp), El Mañana (sp), Breitbart (en)