Baja California Attorney General María Elena Andrade Ramírez announced that 16 people have been arrested in the Mexicali Valley following a sweeping law enforcement operation launched after two state police agents were murdered in suspected cartel retaliation.
Among those detained is an active-duty Mexicali municipal police officer, identified as 28-year-old Julio Ezequiel “N,” who was found in possession of narcotics. Thirteen of the 16 detainees have been transferred to state jurisdiction under the Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE), the state attorney general’s office. Several suspects allegedly told investigators they belong to “Los Rusos” (The Russians), an enforcement wing of the Sinaloa Cartel that operates in the Mexicali Valley.
Killings Sparked by Cartel Shootout
The arrests stem from events that began during the week of June 22, when agents of the Fuerza Estatal de Seguridad Ciudadana (FESC), Baja California’s state police force, raided two properties in the Mexicali Valley. During those raids, officers seized vehicles, weapons, and drugs, and a high-ranking Los Rusos leader was killed in a shootout with police.
The cartel’s response was swift and deadly. On a Friday night, 27-year-old off-duty FESC officer Rubén López and his 26-year-old wife, Anayeli Anaya, were shot and killed by gunmen outside their home in Mexicali. Anaya was shielding their three-year-old son when she was shot. The boy survived. The next day, 32-year-old off-duty state officer Manuel Enrique Guerrero Sánchez was gunned down at a taquería in the city. A woman wounded in that attack was hospitalized in serious condition.
Army-Backed Operations Continue
Baja California Security Minister Laureano Carrillo confirmed that the killings were retaliation for the operations against Los Rusos. Since late June, dozens of police officers backed by the Mexican Army have carried out operations at strategic locations across the ejidal zone of the Mexicali Valley. Authorities also seized stolen vehicles, a motorcycle, firearms, and drugs during the sweep, and took custody of two properties suspected of serving as cartel safe houses.
The arrest of an active municipal police officer on cartel-linked charges raises familiar concerns about organized crime infiltration of local law enforcement in Baja California. Similar issues surfaced recently in Tecate, where officers’ sick leave patterns were linked to cartel pressure.
Security operations in the valley are expected to continue until those directly responsible for the officers’ murders are located. The case was first reported by Zeta Tijuana.