A recent series of murders in Tijuana, a city on the Mexican border, may have been inspired by a TV show plot. Drug lords who were angered by corrupt police officers stealing a drug shipment went on a hunt for revenge.
According to prosecutors, two of the officers believed to be involved in the theft have been killed. The city’s former police chief also reports that at least three other officers have been killed, indicating that the suspected cartel may have enacted widespread retaliation.
This is a significant setback for Tijuana, which currently holds the record for the highest number of homicides out of all cities in Mexico. It has about twice the number of homicides as the second-ranked city, Ciudad Juárez, which is also located on the Mexico-United States border. Tijuana, located in the state of Baja California and with a population of over 2.1 million, has consistently experienced around 2,000 murders per year for several years. In comparison, Houston, Texas, with a similar population, recorded 435 homicides in 2022.
According to the prosecution, sometime in mid-November, a group of six police officers from Tijuana reportedly conspired to steal a significant amount of drugs from a warehouse where drug traffickers were storing them.
Last week, a video was released showing the officers’ truck leaving the building with large bundles of cocaine wrapped in plastic and stacked in the truck bed.
This week, state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade announced that three state detectives and a similar number of Tijuana municipal police officers are being investigated in the case.
According to Alberto Capella, who was in charge of Tijuana’s police force in 2007-2008 and 2011-2013, the drugs found were likely owned by the Sinaloa cartel, specifically under the control of “El Mayo” Zambada. This cartel is considered the most dominant in the area.
It seems that the cartel quickly identified the perpetrators of the robbery.
Less than 24 hours after the robbery, the federal prosecutors’ office in Tijuana was targeted by armed individuals who fired approximately 30 shots, causing damage to the building’s front. Shortly after, one of the local police officers suspected to be involved in the theft was fatally shot on a Tijuana street.
On November 24th, the state prosecutors’ office was attacked by gunmen who fired numerous shots, but fortunately no one was hurt.
On November 27th, a detective from the state who was being investigated for theft was fatally shot while filling his car with gas at a station in Tijuana.
A worker from the government’s legal team, who requested anonymity, verified that two officers involved in the scandal were fatally shot in public on the streets of the city earlier this week.
The second officer rejected an opportunity to enter the state’s witness protection program in exchange for testifying in the case, according to the employee.
The ex-police chief, Capella, stated that three other police officers have died since the robbery. This implies that the cartel may be seeking revenge for the theft.
Capella expressed deep concern, stating that Tijuana has never faced an issue of this magnitude before, which is significant.
The city of Tijuana has a history of violence and corruption, but the current surge in violence can be traced back to 2017. That year, the number of murders almost doubled from 919 in 2016 to 1,782 in 2017. Experts believe that conflicts between rival cartels, such as the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, as well as other groups like remnants of the Arellano Felix gang, are the main causes.
In June, Montserrat Caballero, the mayor of the city, revealed her plan to reside at a military facility for her personal protection following the receipt of threatening messages.
Source: theguardian.com
