Mexico: Gunmen abducted four US citizens who entered Mexico from Texas last week to buy drugs but were caught in a shootout that left at least one Mexican and one American dead, US and Mexican according to officials.

They were traveling in a white minivan with North Carolina registration plates. They came under fire on Friday shortly after arriving in Matamoros from Brownsville, the southernmost point in Texas close to the Gulf Coast, according to a statement released by the FBI on Sunday.

According to the FBI the armed men "put all four Americans into a vehicle and drove away from the scene". The bureau is offering a $50,000 reward for the safe return of the abductees and the capture of their captors.

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They were on their way to buy medicine when "there was a clash between the groups," according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who did not provide further details.

Driving through Matamoros, a woman witnessed what appeared to be a broad daylight shooting and kidnapping. He requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

The scene reflects the terror that has long built up in Matamoros, a city ruled by rival Gulf Cartel factions that frequently engage in conflict. In the state of Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is located, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared during the violence.

According to the woman, the white minivan was allegedly struck by another vehicle near an intersection before the shootings began.

A second SUV stopped and several armed men got out. The woman recalled that they (the gunmen) suddenly appeared in front of us. "I went into a state of shock; nobody honked or honked. It's likely everyone was thinking, "If we move, they'll see us, and they might shoot us.

She claimed that the assailants pushed a woman who could walk into the bed of a pickup truck. While being carried to the truck, the other person's head could still be moved.

We do not know whether the other two who were dragged on the footpath were alive or not, the woman said. Minutes later, Mexican officials showed up.

In a video shared on social media on Friday, four men are being loaded into the bed of a white pickup truck by men wearing body armor and carrying rifles. The others appeared either dead or injured, but one was still alive and seated. At least one person appeared to raise his head off the pavement, before being dragged onto the truck.

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There were so many shootings in Matamoros on Friday that the US consulate issued an alert about the situation. Local authorities advised people to take shelter. It was not immediately clear what connection the kidnapping might have to the violence.

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement released Monday that the Americans were taken hostage at gunpoint and that a Mexican citizen who was "innocent" at the time of the attack died. He claimed that several American justice organizations were cooperating with their Mexican counterparts to find the missing.

The identities and origins of the victims have not been disclosed by the authorities.

According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, President Joe Biden was informed of the situation. She declined to respond to further inquiries, citing privacy concerns.

A Mexican woman was killed in Friday's shooting, according to Tamaulipas chief prosecutor Irving Barrios. It made no mention of his death and did not say whether it happened during the same encounter as the abduction.

On social media, Tamaulipas State Police reported "two armed incidents between unknown citizens" on Friday.

Because the cartels have a history of taking their own bodies with them, the victims of the violence in Matamoros and other large border cities of Tamaulipas are often greatly outnumbered. Due to security concerns, local media often do not cover such incidents, leading to a knowledge gap.

An apparent collision between a white minivan and a red SUV showed in photos from the scene seen by The Associated Press, with the driver's side window smashed out and all the doors open.

US citizens are advised by the State Department not to travel to Tamaulipas. However, as a border city, Americans living in Brownsville or other parts of Texas often travel to visit family, see the doctor, or go shopping. Additionally, it served as a crossing point for those going further into Mexico.

Matamoros, which houses the headquarters of the powerful Gulf Cartel, used to be a peaceful place. For many years, spring breakers visiting South Padre Island in Texas included a night on the town as part of a "two-nation vacation".

However, the recent 10 to 15 years have seen an increase in cartel violence, which has scared off a lot of that business. US citizens can occasionally become involved in the fighting.

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When three American siblings went missing in October 2014 while visiting their father near Matamoros, they were later discovered shot to death and burned. Their parents claimed that they had been kidnapped by men posing as members of "Hercules," a tactical security unit in the city, while they were dressed in police gear.