The Tijuana Cartel, also known as the Arellano - Flix Organization is a Mexican drug cartel operating out of Tijuana, Baja California. They try to buy off government officials to amass political influence and offer free food and social programs to poor communities. So you think youre seeing something, you think you understand whats going on but you have no way to confirm.. [11] Mexican army troops were sent to Tijuana in January 2007 in an operation to restore order to the border city and root out corrupt police officers, who mostly were cooperating with the Tijuana cartel. Ramn Arellano Flix ordered a hit which resulted in the mass murder of 18 people in Ensenada, Baja California, on September 17, 1998. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR And the people just walk past and come out with bags full of drugs. So far, this has not been entirely successful as the alliance has not weakened the Sinaloa Cartel's considerable membership and intelligence network in the city, which is built on a tight relationship with local officials and institutions. "The population had to follow [rumors of a curfew] from criminal groups, whether or not these were verified," said Cecilia Farfn-Mndez, the head of security research at the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies at UC San Diego. Th. Unlike Sinaloa, Tijuana is shown to be thriving at the start of season 3. ", "I think there's a concern that rather than developing civilian institutions that are devoted to law enforcement, we're seeing increasingly the armed forces getting more duties.". Founded by the Arellano-Flix family, the cartel once was described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico". But presence does not equal dominance. After Ramn Arellano Flix (Manuel Masalva) and his friends kill Sinaloa-affiliate El Rayo, the tension and violence rapidly escalate. [9] The Oaxaca Cartel reportedly joined forces with the Tijuana Cartel in 2003. It is based in Culiacn, Sinaloa state, Mexico. When these groups weakened and fractured, it took years for another criminal organization to assert control over this strategic zone. [14], The Mexican federal government responded by implementing "Operation Tijuana", a coordination carried out between the Mexican military and the municipal police forces in the area. Mexico has been trapped in a spiral of cartel-related violence that has left more than 340,000 dead since 2006, when the government launched a controversial anti-drug operation with federal troops. 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. 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. But the CSRL has been severely weakened by repeated government assaults, and the CJNG has managed to seize control of criminal economies in these three states, although not without spilling blood. He then sends Neto to the same prison as Palma to show the inmates who is truly in charge. hide caption. The group has expanded rapidly across Mexico and is now one of the country's most. But it's a hard sell. Guzman proceeded to anger them by trafficking drugs through their territory without informing them or giving them a cut of the action. [29] Leyva remains at large and Villareal was captured in July 2011. The Sinaloa cartel has a presence in 17 Mexican states. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR Its like shadow puppetry. TIJUANA ( Border Report) Monica Yadira Ruiz a.k.a. ", "So nah, I don't think I'm really secure. The squad discovered that Benjamin Arellano Felix was hiding at a safehouse in Puebla with his henchman Charalito, and Conrado Higuera Sol - now operational director of the federal police - oversaw the operation that led to Arellano Felix's capture. Now, the Old School Zetas have a presence in only certain municipalities such as Coatzacoalcos andMinatitln, but Veracruz's strategic points are held by the CJNG. To put down the violence, InSight Crime states that a pact was probably created between military officials and members of the Snchez Arellano faction to eliminate Simental's group. [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. On 24 May 1993, Logan Heights Gang hitmen hired by the Tijuana Cartel attempted to kill Guzman in a double-assassination at the Guadalajara International Airport; they succeeded in killing the other target, Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo. The other faction, led by Luis Fernando Snchez Arellano (a.k.a. "It was definitely a flashback of other times where you saw this spectacular violence playing out in the city," said Farfn-Mndez, the security expert. [20][21], The Tijuana Cartel has infiltrated the Mexican law enforcement and judicial systems and is directly involved in street-level trafficking within the United States. In the days since the attacks, military reinforcements have been sent into Tijuana to bolster security. Since at least 2017, a CJNG splinter group, calling itself the Nueva Plaza Cartel, has engaged in regular battles with the larger cartel. Its a peace that is totally at the discretion of criminal groups. "It has happened a lot, some of their leaders have had these pacts. Although one cartel was weakened, simple economics demonstrate how the illicit drug market and organized crime continues to prosper despite cartels coming and going. Borja Vilalta-Castellanos, 36 . Eduardo Arellano Flix was captured by the Mexican Army after a shootout in Tijuana on October 26, 2008;[20] he had been the last of the Arellano Flix brothers at large. "And I cannot allow a cartel to rule my citizens. But to date, it still appears to have less influence there than rivals such as Los Salazar, a powerful cell of the Sinaloa Cartel, andLa Lnea, an increasingly powerful faction of theJurez Cartel. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR The Arellano-Felix family controlled the city of Tijuana.. 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. Police stand guard as people take part in the peaceful rally outside the military base. A member of the National Guard pats down a driver who was stopped at a checkpoint in the Gran Tenochtitlan neighborhood in Tijuana. And right next to that park there's this crowd of drug dealers. This act led to war between the two families. A Mississauga-based senior manager for the Sinaloa cocaine cartel has been granted full parole after serving less than four years of a 13 year prison sentence. Segn el gobierno federal, la iniciativa tiene la intencin de "contribuir a la prevencin, deteccin del desvo o uso y castigo de la produccin ilcita de drogas sintticas", esto . The San Diego-Tijuana border region was jolted just over a week ago, when cartel members launched a campaign of terror on the streets of Tijuana, with vehicles being set ablaze and gunmen. Benjamn Arellano Flix Francisco Rafael Arellano Flix Ramn . Gunmen cleared public buses and set them ablaze. That was way the Arellano Felix brothers operation included other clans in Tijuana, San Diego and Los Angeles. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. "La Moni," who police say is an assassin for the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested Tuesday during a police raid in Colonia Miramar in Tijuana. [52] The story does not end here. Tijuana residents take part in a peaceful rally outside a military base during a visit by Mexico's president. The Flores brothers admitted to smuggling at least 1,500 kilograms of cocaine for the Sinaloa cartel into the US every month between 2005 and 2008. Ismael Zambada Garca or El Mayo (Alberto Guerra), a previously independent but respected trafficker, join forces with Chapo after Tijuana burns his boat. The city lies along the Tecate River near the Pacific Ocean and is 12 miles (19 km) south of San Diego, California, U.S. According to Balderas, the CJNG is present in the capital, especially in certain poorer neighborhoods to the north of the city, but it has not succeeded in becoming a main criminal actor as of yet. [13] Nonetheless, most of the victims in Tijuana were white-collar entrepreneurs, and the kidnappings were bringing "too much heat on organized crime" and disrupting the criminal enterprises and interests of the cartel. But along the border with the United States, the group has been involved in a series of violent clashes for control of border crossings. SEE ALSO: Mexico's Role in the Deadly Rise of Fentanyl. Our study found that MS-13 leaders have made several attempts to . After Archbishop Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo is killed in a shootout between the two cartels, the Mexican and US governments form a joint task force to fight the cartels. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR A number of experts say that strategy doesnt work. Members of the National Guard patrol a beach in Playas de Tijuana on August 16. The US Treasury Department has included on its blacklists various businesses connected to the cartel in the city. A fictional "Tijuana cartel" headed by a character named Obregon was featured battling a fictional "Juarez cartel" in the 2000 motion picture Traffic. Ramn was eventually killed in a gun battle with police at Mazatln in Sinaloa, on February 10, 2002. To the east, the border state of Tamaulipas has long been a prized criminal enclave. News study outlines air pollution from Tijuana sewage, Art Show: 'The Possibility of Something Happening', MASTERPIECE CLASSIC: The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, Current rainy season could be a drought buster, forecaster says, Settlement reached in Tijuana sewage lawsuit, Brittney Griner urges the return of U.S. detainees abroad at NAACP Image Awards, Washington state attorney general says FDA rules on abortion drug are unreasonable, An Arizona driver is in custody after crashing into bicycling group, killing 2, How Cardiff's new farmers market may help keep small farms in business, San Diego officials work to stop elephant poaching. Here, InSight Crime zeroes in on the main regions in which CJNG operates and the resistance they face: In the Golden Triangle -- a crucial drug-producing region composed of the states of Sinaloa and Durango, as well as large parts of Chihuahua -- the Sinaloa Cartel continues to be the major criminal player. "Because they gained what they were seeking: to have a lot of problems and fear in the population. Despite all of the evidence that shows us that this military deployment is not an effective strategy, it has remained at the centerpiece of the Mexican federal governments response to crime and violence, she added. The San Diego-Tijuana border region was jolted just over a week ago, when cartel members launched a campaign of terror on the streets of Tijuana, with vehicles being set ablaze and gunmen blocking major thoroughfares. "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) . His downfall ended the war between the two cartels. [9] Some of them. Now there is another battle. Another key crossing is Ciudad Jurez in Chihuahua, infamous for once being the most violent city in the world. It is one of at least 40 groups vying for criminal economies there. The war that broke out between the Sinaloa and Tijuana cartels, and El Chapo . It was in this city that the CJNG kidnapped and briefly heldtwo of El Chapo's sons in August 2016. This group reportedly arosein 2017 when several gangs dedicated to oil theft banded together to stop the CJNG's incursions into Guanajuato, Quertaro and Hidalgo. 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. In Utah, fentanyl overdose deaths increased 300 percent over a three-year period. 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. In 1989, the ambitious Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin Guzman Loera approached the brothers Benjamin and Ramon Arellano Felix, the leaders of the Tijuana Cartel, and offered to work with them in the drug trade. How and where does the Sinaloa Cartel operate? I cannot allow citizens to pay the consequences of these criminal acts we need them to trust our police.". "Let me put it as an example where I live," said Ramirez, the restaurant worker. Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) - Split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010, it is "one of the most powerful and fastest growing in Mexico and the United States," according to the DEA. [24] The clan of the Arellano Felix continues, although diminished after the capture of their leaders. On November 5, 2007, Francisco was sentenced to life in prison, at ADX Florence, after pleading guilty in September 2007 to running a criminal enterprise and laundering money. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! That fight for Tijuana resulted in some of the deadliest years in the citys history. Lopez Obrador seems to be doubling down on this failed strategy, Brewer said. "If the CJNG does happen to act with authority in Mexico City, authorities immediately crack down," Balderas said. Mexico's Atlantic Coast was traditionally contested between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. "My coworkers told me that, hey, you got to come and I said, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to risk myself to just get some money," he said. With such sophisticated precautionary measures, the Arellano-Felix brothers proved difficult to counter. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. The gang war was marked by several gang shootings, bombings, and atrocities, and it was brough to an end in 2002 when the Tijuana leaders were taken down by both the Sinaloa Cartel and law enforcement. Residents on both sides of the border were shocked by the brazen attacks, and normalcy didnt return until days later. What's more, this model of sending in the National Guard might not do much to calm residents who are resigned to violence. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. In order to wrest control of the city from the Sinaloa Cartel, the CJNG allied itself with the weakened Tijuana Cartel, which rebranded itself as the Tijuana Cartel New Generation (Cartel de Tijuana Nueva Generacin). Sinaloa vs Tijuana During the late 80s and early 90s a huge war broke out after the split of the Guadalajara cartel. TheSinaloa-Tijuana war was a bloody gang war fought between the rival Sinaloa and Tijuana Mexican drug cartels in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca from 1989 to 1993 and from 2001 to 2002. It's not for lack of trying. 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]. Incluso, en 1993 hubo un intento de asesinar al lder del Cartel de Sinaloa. Updated: Apr 8, 2020 / 05:31 PM CDT. Keep up with all the latest news, arts and culture, and TV highlights from KPBS. Like other large cartels, the CJNG has found it increasingly difficult to control strategic territories the more it has expanded. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR At the end of season 3, the soldiers leave, and Benjamin comes back. The most notorious example came in April 2019, when 14 people were murdered during a party in the town of Minatitln. Morelos and the State of Mexico offer plenty of criminal economies, including human trafficking, kidnapping, microtrafficking and drug trafficking, especially heroin. Take precautions if you want to come to Tijuana, but know the city remained safe because we contained the situation," she said. [50] In its most successful era of drug distribution, the Arellano-Felix Organization was solely responsible for a significant portion of the cocaine distribution to the United States. [52] The impact on the United States was so significant that heavy involvement by the American government was required. Shiny SUVs rest curbside. Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero says residents of her city can trust officials to keep them safe. What Happens to Jurez and Gulf Cartels at the End of Narcos: Mexico Season 3. Los Palillos ("The Toothpicks") was a group operating within Tijuana Cartel, who worked as the armed wing of the Tijuana Cartel in the United States, for the control of the criminal activities in California and Nevada. The Sinaloa-Tijuana war was a bloody gang war fought between the rival Sinaloa and Tijuana Mexican drug cartels in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca from 1989 to 1993 and from 2001 to 2002. So strongly, that Mexican authority proves not enough to control the infiltration of the American people. And in season 3, it finally spills over. 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. Their protection strategy and preparations have been described as "paramilitary in nature" by Mexican enforcement officials. I n Mexico's big cities, drug cartel gunmen normally act like phantoms. A report by the International Crisis Group found at least 20 distinct criminal groups there, vying for control of synthetic drug production, drug trafficking routes coming in via the Pacific and for theincreasingly lucrative extortion of the avocado industry. In this case, the Sinaloa Cartel outweighed the falling Arellano-Felix Organization and gained control of the Tijuana/ San Diego route. Some areas of Mexico have increased risk of crime and kidnapping. But along the border with the United States, the group has been involved in a series of violent clashes for control of border crossings. By Ioan Grillo October 18, 2019 7:39 PM EDT. El Crtel de Tijuana y El Crtel del Golfo. hide caption. American strategy included instituting a Joint Task Force in southern California. During the parade, Guzman and Zambada observed Arellano and Alambra from a rooftop, watching through binoculars as they waded through the crowd. The war between the Sinaloa and Tijuana cartels may have set the stage for later wars between the Beltrn Leyva and Zetas crime syndicates, but it was the first great narco conflict. Chapo attacks Benjamn Arellano Flixs (Alfonso Dosal) 40th birthday party and kills Enedina Arellano Flixs (Mayra Hermosillo) new husband, Claudio Vazquez. "The most recent outbreaks of violence have been the execution of the last soldiers [of the CSRL]," Balderas said. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR The Sinaloa Cartel, which is based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, is one of the oldest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was designated on December 15, 2021 pursuant to E.O. The Jalisco cartel is also powerful, but more violent. As a result, the Tijuana Cartel reversed their branding back to Cartel Arellano Flix and arranged the assassination of Cabo 33 the Jalisco Cartel's head of operations in Baja California, after effectively removing the Jalisco Cartel's influence in Baja California the Tijuana Cartel has further engaged the Sinaloa Cartel for control of Tijuana plaza and its surrounding areas. The latest escalation is not just a repeat of the mid-2000s, but in some ways even more dramatic because of the new factor that is Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who is writing a book about organized crime in Mexico. [citation needed] Felix received money from members of the criminal group and local criminals to "kick up" money from their illegal activities such as kidnapping and contract killing take half of the money and give it to the Tijuana Cartel to launder it. Checkpoints have been set up in some areas and troops can be seen stopping and inspecting cars close to where one of the vehicles was set on fire last Friday. On August 14, 2006, Francisco Javier Arellano Flix was apprehended by the United States Coast Guard off the coast of Baja California Sur. En Bolavip te decimos quines sern los futbolistas que protagonizarn el partido de este domingo 26 de febrero entre Xolos de Tijuana vs Pachuca por la Jornada 9 de la Primera Divisin de . After Benjamn barely escapes from being captured by the soldiers, he goes into hiding, leaving Enedina in charge of day-to-day operations. As long as rival groups fight for control of Tijuana, we should expect the violence to continue until one comes out on top. Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero says residents of her city can trust officials to keep them safe. The Tijuana cartel is present in at least 15 Mexican states, with important areas of operation in Tijuana, Mexicali, Tecate, and Ensenada in Baja California, in parts of Sinaloa,[35] and in Zacatecas. [50] International connections as well as internal communication centers provide the Tijuana Cartel with strong surveillance and awareness of government infiltration and plans.