The first cartel war ever in Mexico!! But they dont have direct access to the US border and are forced to pay hefty taxes to the Arellano family to move their cargo through Tijuana. ", A member of the National Guard patrols Playas de Tijuana. On 8 November 1992, several Sinaloa Cartel hitmen in police uniforms massacred several Tijuana Cartel members and partygoers at the Christine nightclub in Puerto Vallarta, where Benjamin Arellano Felix was having his birthday party. His downfall ended the war between the two cartels. [46][47], The Tijuana Cartel is believed to have ties with FARC, a Colombia guerrilla group that also has ties with other Mexican drug cartels. "Los Cabos" are a regional Tijuana cartel organization that worked under the Cartel de Sinaloa (CDS) , then a majority of them left to join the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin (CJNG) . According to Balderas, pockets of resistance to the CJNG still remain in certain municipalities of Guanajuato, such as Villagrn, but these are not believed to be highly strategic for organized crime groups. They have a lot of soldiers who are vicious, loyal, and effective. In Utah, fentanyl overdose deaths increased 300 percent over a three-year period. That fight for Tijuana resulted in some of the deadliest years in the citys history. In June 2020, it was reported that the Sinaloa Cartel controlled much of the Tijuana Cartel's former territory and that an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which also resulted in the cartel being rebranded as Tijuana Cartel New Generation (Cartel de Tijuana Nueva Generacin), but this alliance disintegrated very quickly when the Jalisco Cartel showed it intended to take the place of the Sinaloa cartel rather than aid in helping the Tijuana Cartel reestablish dominance and independence. Take precautions if you want to come to Tijuana, but know the city remained safe because we contained the situation," she said. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Chapo has always been smart and innovative. 1993 Guadalajara International Airport shootout. When the war begins, it predictably affects both sides. In early May 2020, Faras lvarez called on vigilante groups in four municipalities to unite and resist the "invasion" by the CJNG. [26] His two top lieutenants were Armando Villareal Heredia[27] and Edgardo Leyva Escandon. Chapo attacks Benjamn Arellano Flixs (Alfonso Dosal) 40th birthday party and kills Enedina Arellano Flixs (Mayra Hermosillo) new husband, Claudio Vazquez. Felbab-Brown has studied the difference between how each cartel operates. Cartel henchmen set up roadblocks throughout Baja California and the government imposed a curfew. Just over a week ago, a drug cartel launched a campaign of terror on Tijuana vehicles were set ablaze and gunmen blocked major thoroughfares. In the 1990s they formed an alliance with the Cali Cartel and Norte del Valle Cartel for the cocaine business.[48]. Wage theft is commonplace in San Diego. We want to sustain Latin Americas largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. "I think we should really abandon these narco narratives that, even though they can be very sexy and very appealing, do very little in serving us to understand why is it that a place like Tijuana has not been able to reduce levels of violence," she said. Many others in Tijuana felt the same, and despite assurances of safety from local authorities, the normally bustling border city was eerily quiet on Saturday. Benjamn has painstakingly built relationships with the elites of Tijuana, hoping that they will come to his familys aid if and when they need it. With the participation of Nueva Generacin, the battle for control of Tijuana's neighborhood drug trade and lucrative smuggling routes to the United States has entered a new phase, one that has. [41] He later pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to launder money, and was sentenced to 25 years in jail on April 2, 2012. According to Vctor Snchez, a national security expert at the University of Coahuila, the CSRL was initially able to stave off CJNG advances due to its strong backing from local communities that profit from oil theft. Headlines and US indictments have confidently proclaimed the Jalisco Cartel to be Mexico's dominant criminal group. This criminal organization is responsible for the transportation, importation, and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana, as well as large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine.[22]. 14059. . In January 2019, InSight Crime named the CJNG one of its "Criminal Winners" for 2018, based on its territorial presence, its income from cocaine and synthetic drug trafficking, its control of port infrastructure and its ability to launder money. But everyone else is saying: 'How can you say that, have you not seen what is happening?. Since at least 2017, a CJNG splinter group, calling itself the Nueva Plaza Cartel, has engaged in regular battles with the larger cartel. This has brought the group into regular conflict with the CJNG since 2017 but with no side gaining a distinct advantage. There cannot be one single dominant criminal actor in a country as politically, economically and criminally diverse as Mexico. In October 1997, a retired U.S. Air Force C-130A that was sold to the airline Aeropostal Cargo de Mxico was seized by Mexican federal officials, who alleged that the aircraft had been used to haul drugs for the cartel up from Central and South America, as well as around the Mexican interior. The response today has a similar flavor to back then, as Tijuana is blanketed with military protection. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR Gustavo became the Investigative Border Reporter at KPBS in 2021. In the city of Tijuana, in the Pacific state of Baja California, the CJNG and Sinaloa Cartel are the main providers of synthetic drugs, especially fentanyl. [13] The faction led by Snchez Arellano demanded the reduction of the kidnappings in Tijuana, but his demands were rejected by Garca Simental, resulting in high levels of violence. [10] This alliance has since dwindled as the Tijuana, Jalisco New Generation, and Sinaloa cartels all now battle each other for trafficking influence in the city of Tijuana and the region of Baja California. The two groups began to subdue local leaders and demand the payment of the floor; today there is a "war", reveals a journalistic work of the magazine Proceso. Initially, they seem to be collaborating. TIJUANA, Mexico Moses Zazueta Ramirez was at home last Friday when he started getting messages from his mom and seeing the chaos unfold on social media. There is no region where the CJNG can be said to enjoy total dominance but there are zones where it has consolidated its position as the most powerful criminal actor. The Arellano-Felix Organization, also known as "The Tijuana Cartel," located in Tijuana, Mexico attested great influence and impact on the United States in its prime era of operation. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR When the second season of 'Narcos: Mexico' ends, Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo (Diego Luna) is in jail and his Guadalajara Cartel has splintered into three independent cartels: the Tijuana Cartel under the leadership of the Arellano family; the Sinaloa Cartel controlled by Chapo (Alejandro Edda), Palma (Gorka Lasaosa), and Azul (Fermn Martnez); and the Jurez [] Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR Le cartel de Tijuana, aussi appel Organisation Arellano Flix, bas dans la ville du mme nom en Basse Californie ( Mexique ), est une organisation criminelle spcialise dans le trafic de stupfiants, qui tait mene par sept frres et quatre surs Arellano Flix, qui ont dfray la chronique par leur brutalit et cruaut 1. Operating out of Tijuana, the cartel is now believed to make other activities such as kidnapping, people smuggling and bribery from a network of cells of local members within the Tijuana border region where the drugs are stored prior to shipment. Morelos and the State of Mexico offer plenty of criminal economies, including human trafficking, kidnapping, microtrafficking and drug trafficking, especially heroin. And on Friday, Mexico's President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador visited and gave a national address from a military base, flanked by senior defense officials. Later, some split off further, leaving the CJNG for other groups, such as a CAF subgroup led by El Flaquito. Another thing that happened in the aftermath of these events is that the government is saying that their strategy is working, she said. Zaoona zostaa przez siedmiu braci Arellano Flix. One mother at the rally outside the military base said violence had become a part of life in the region, but the scale of the attack last week still surprised her. If there was a concern, the cartel pivoted and used the. The unfortunate shooting was part of the battle between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel. At the beginning of season 3, Sinaloa is inarguably the worst-performing organization among all four major cartels active in Mexico. Unfortunately, what we have seen over the past 10 to 15 years is a lot of repetition of the same go-to strategies, which consists largely of military deployment, said Stephanie Brewer, Director for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, or WOLA. The Tijuana Cartel ( Spanish: Crtel de Tijuana) or Arellano-Flix-Cartel ( Spanish: Crtel Arellano Flix, CAF) is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Tijuana residents take part in a peaceful rally outside a military base during a visit by Mexico's president. The Sinaloa Cartel's forces heavily employed Narco Tanks and .50 caliber Barrett rifles, among other weapons during fighting in 2019 in Culiacn after a previous attempt to detain Ovidio, along. Run by the Arellano-Flix family, the Tijuana cartel are also one of the main players in Narcos: Mexico Season 3. . Shops and bystanders were being targeted, with some officials saying it was in retaliation to arrests of high-level cartel leaders and others attributing it to disputes between gangs. "If the CJNG does happen to act with authority in Mexico City, authorities immediately crack down," Balderas said. State officials say 17 people were detained and suspects include members of the Jalisco cartel. As long as rival groups fight for control of Tijuana, we should expect the violence to continue until one comes out on top. The power of the CJNG in Jalisco also extends to certain municipalities in neighboring states likeZacatecasandAguascalientes, as well as the coasts ofNayarit, ColimaandMichoacn. It is not because the state has developed effective policies.. Moses Zazueta Ramirez is back at work after taking two days off out of fear of more cartel violence. In terms of what does this mean, this means that the state increasingly looks weaker in relation to criminal groups, said Cecilia Farfan-Mendez, co-founder of the Mexico Violence Resource Project. There is also the Gulf Cartel headed by Juan Nepomuceno Guerra (Jesus Ochoa) and Juan Garca Abrego (Flavio Medina). The downfall and desizing of one cartel, like the Tijuana Cartel, provides the opportunity for another to retake territory and expand their business. ", Carlos Atilano Pea organized the "united for security" rally outside a military base where Mexico's President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador gave his daily press briefing during his visit to Tijuana. While the Sinaloa cartel maintains a heavy presence in Sinaloa state, it has also ousted its rivals in the lucrative smuggling corridors of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. I cannot allow citizens to pay the consequences of these criminal acts we need them to trust our police.".