State Department Warns Americans in Mexico to Be Cautious

The State Department is warning American travelers to Mexico to be on guard against possible retaliation after the arrests inside the U.S. of associates of the powerful Zetas drug cartel, ABC News reported.

Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested seven alleged associates of the Zetas cartel in New Mexico and Oklahoma for allegedly laundering drug money through horseracing in the U.S., ABC reported.

The travel warning came on the day of the arrests and the unsealing of the indictment. "Given the history and resources of this violent TCO, the U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to maintain a low profile and a heightened sense of awareness," the State Department warned, ABC News reported.

Those arrested included Jose Trevino Morales, the brother of Zetas leaders Miguel Angel and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales. The indictment said, according to ABC News, that the Zetas cartel steered drug money to Morales and his wife to buy, train and race quarterhorses.

The Zetas are based in Nuevo Laredo, just across the border from Laredo, Texas.