Topic: Matamoros

During their kidnapping, Rubin and his brother were held at gunpoint and interrogated by seven cartel members who suspected them of being intelligence agents. The captors were particularly agitated by Rubin's drone and camera equipment, leading to a tense standoff where a pistol was held to Rubin's head. The brothers were blindfolded and driven deeper into Mexico while they secretly loosened their restraints in case they had to fight for their lives.

The cartel captors eventually took Rubin and his brother to an abandoned field where they smashed their electronic gear with a crowbar. Rubin managed to hide a GoPro containing critical footage of the Sinaloa Cartel and used an Apple AirTag to track their location. After being released at a port of entry, Rubin later contacted Gulf Cartel members on Facebook to successfully negotiate the return of his memory cards.

The kidnapping of the Muckraker team by the Cartel del Golfo (CDG) in Matamoros is detailed, with Michael Yon tracking their GPS icons in real-time. The cartel reportedly blindfolded the reporters and took them to a field before releasing them at the Brownsville point of entry. Yon explains that the beach near the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica is a major smuggling route controlled by the cartel, where they routinely intercept those who have not paid "tolls."