Nuevo Laredo

Nuevo Laredo (nwā`vō lärā`thō), city (1990 pop. 218,413), Tamaulipas state, NE Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Tex. Linked with the United States by automobile and railroad bridges, Nuevo Laredo is the northern terminus of the national railroad and the Inter-American Highway, as well as the chief point of entry for U.S. tourists driving to Mexico. It is also a center of international trade and the distribution point for an agricultural (mainly cotton) and livestock-raising area. Nuevo Laredo has been one of the many Mexican cities affected by an influx of foreign capital, primarily due to the establishment of foreign-owned industrial plants, known as maquiladoras. Founded in 1755, the city was part of Laredo until the end of the Mexican War in 1848. Nuevo Laredo played a role in the Mexican revolution of 1910 and was burned extensively in 1914.