Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda inaugurated a new purpose-built facility for the Escuadrón Violeta in Mexicali’s Valle de Puebla neighborhood on May 26. The state invested more than 56 million pesos (approximately $2.8 million USD) in the specialized building, which serves victims of gender-based violence.
The Escuadrón Violeta is Baja California’s dedicated domestic and gender violence response unit, operating under the state’s Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSCBC), or Secretary of Public Safety. The new facility offers medical care, psychological support, legal counsel, and safe shelter for victims. It also contains detention cells for aggressors.
Designed Around Operational Needs
Laureano Carrillo Rodríguez, head of the SSCBC, said the building will improve both the quality of victim services and working conditions for Escuadrón Violeta staff. Arturo Espinoza Jaramillo, head of the Secretaría de Infraestructura, Desarrollo Urbano y Reordenamiento Territorial (SIDURT), explained that architects worked directly with Escuadrón Violeta personnel to design the facility around their operational needs.
State officials expect the new location in Valle de Puebla, a neighborhood on Mexicali’s periphery, to reduce emergency response times for domestic violence calls in high-incidence areas of the city. Valle de Puebla sits in the southeastern section of Mexicali, a sprawling capital city where summer temperatures regularly exceed 110°F.
Governor Addresses Staff at Ceremony
During the inauguration ceremony, Avila Olmeda addressed the unit’s officers directly. “With this Violeta building, we are giving a voice to all those women who find in you allies and a safe space, where the nightmare they live at home ends,” the governor said.
Herlinda Valenzuela Corrales, a Valle de Puebla resident and beneficiary of the program, also spoke at the event. She thanked the governor and Escuadrón Violeta staff for their work in the neighborhood, saying the unit has helped more women move forward with their lives.
Part of a Broader State Strategy
The facility is part of what the state government calls the Sistema Violeta, a broader network of services and protections for women facing violence in Baja California. The Escuadrón Violeta operates specialized patrol units staffed by trained officers who respond exclusively to gender violence emergencies across the state.
For anyone in Mexicali experiencing domestic or gender-based violence, the Escuadrón Violeta can be reached through the 911 emergency line. The new facility is located in the Valle de Puebla subdivision.
This story was first reported by Jornada BC and confirmed by El Imparcial, Punto Norte, and Tijuana en Línea.