Tijuana is the new Cartel battlefield and one of the most dangerous Cities in Mexico

 Mexico has been going through a wave of violence for a decade as a result of clashes between criminal groups and the Military war waged by the State against drug trafficking. The country closed 2020 with 34,515 victims of intentional homicide despite confinement due to the Covid 19 pandemic, a figure slightly lower than the historical record of 34,648 cases in 2019.

Article translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat. 

See link to original Sinembargo article in Spanish by Carlos Zuniga

The frontier City of Tijuana, famous for its manufacturing and constant commercial interchange, has been converted over the last few weeks into a Cartel battlefield, that has converted it, once more, into one of the most dangerous Cities in Mexico.

“Its worrying and alarming that we are suffering executions almost every day in the City of Tijuana, that even though its happening on the peripheries and the zones outside of the tourist areas, it doesn’t make any noise”, said Julian Palombo, this Saturday, business owner on the Avenida Revolucion, the prinicipal artery of the City.

The businessman opined that these types of events put on alert, anyone wishing to visit the City, with the United States Government recommending not to visit Mexico.

A City disputed by Narco’s

The battle by organized crime left in the year 2020 a total of 2005 dead, meanwhile in January to the 11th of February 2021, 223 executions have been registered.

Actually in this frontier city with San Diego, three criminal groups operate: the Cartel Jalisco Neuva Generacion, the Cartel Arellano Felix, and the Sinaloa Cartel, with every one fighting for the plaza where they can operate.

The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion is led in the City by Abel Miranda Rodriguez, alias El Cateo, who carries on a dispute with Francisco Javier Rabadan, alias El Aguacate, and Ivan Pena, alias El Arcangel, from the Sinaloa Cartel.

Between the three fighting for control of the human trafficking in the Western Zone, which covers the center of the City, the fraccionamiento Soler, Playas de Tijuana and colonias Castillo, Aleman and Altamira among others.

In the Southern Zone, that connects the colonias like Santa Fe, Langunitas, La Gloria and Pacifico, they fight for arms trafficking, headed by Cristian Rodriguez, alias El Buho, and Cristian Yoneli Cuevas, alias El Doctor, both possible residents of the United States.

In the same zone but in colonias like Camino Verde, Sanchez Toboada, Emperadores, among others, they are fighting only for point of sale drug dealing, on smaller scale arms, which has generated a dispute between David Jiminez, alias El Cabo 20 from the Arellano Felix, and a narco trafficker identified as Boca de Negra of Sinaloa.

The East Zone colonias El Refugio, El Florido, Bulevar 2000, Valles de las Palmas, they are fighting only for point of sale drug dealing, here the protagonists are Rodolfo Lopez Arellano, alias El Solecito, from the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, and Edwin Antonio Rubio, alias El Max, from the Sinaloa Cartel.

The violence that doesn’t cease

In only 24 hours, from the 11th to 12th of February in Tijuana, 14 executions were reported, in which 3 women were killed, and a youngster of 18 years received bullet wounds that are not fatal.

The Mexican Red Cross, attended in 2020, 2010 people with bullet wounds and 413 wounded with knives, meanwhile so far in 2021, they have attend 204 people with bullet wounds.

“The situation with patients with Covid and wounds from firearms in generating a complex situation for the response of different emergency agencies in Tijuana”, said Juan Carlos Mendez, co-ordinator of ambulances for the Red Cross.

Mendez gave an interview with the Attorney General of the State of Baja California to talk about the situation with homicides, however the response was negative on more than one occasion.

It should be noted that the Attorney Generals Office currently has internal problems, as elements of the Public Ministry are working under protest due to irregularities in the salaries last month.

Mexico has been going through a wave of violence for a decade as a result of clashes between criminal groups and the Military war waged by the State against drug trafficking.

The country ended 2020 with 34,515 victims of intentional homicide, despite confinement due to the Covid 19 pandemic, a figure slightly lower than the historical record of 34,648 cases in 2019.

The Baja California border is one of the five states where half of Mexico’s murders are committed, along with Guanajuato, Jalisco, Chihuahua and Michoacan.