Laredo is a city in southern Texas on the north bank of the Rio Grande. It is the largest city in Webb County and the ninth-largest in Texas. Laredo’s economy is based on international trade with Mexico. It is part of the Maquiladora economy, in which goods are imported into the United States and then assembled and shipped back to Mexico.
Laredo’s location on the southern border of the United States makes it an important gateway city. It is adjacent to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, with which it forms a binational metropolitan area called Los Dos Laredos.
Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the Flag of the Republic of the Rio Grande, the Confederate States of America, the Flag of Texas, the United States of America, the Mexican flag, the flag of Coahuila y Tejas, and the flag of Nuevo León). These flags represent Laredo’s diverse history and culture.