Mexico’s military launched its Holy Week 2026 security operation in Tijuana on April 2, deploying roughly 1,700 troops and law enforcement personnel across the city. The operation, coordinated by the 2nd Military Zone Command, combines Army, National Guard, Navy, state police, and prosecutors’ agents in one of the largest seasonal security mobilizations the border city has seen.
Colonel Ramón Hernández Lira, the coordinating commander in Tijuana, said the deployment includes 522 Mexican Army soldiers, 953 National Guard troops, and 15 Marines. Smaller contingents from the Baja California state police (Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana) and the FGE (Fiscalía General del Estado, the state attorney general’s office) round out the force. A fleet of 77 patrol vehicles supports the operation on the ground.
Priority Zones Include Playas de Tijuana
Hernández Lira identified four priority zones where forces will concentrate: Playas de Tijuana, San Antonio de los Buenos, Sánchez Taboada, and La Presa. Authorities flagged these neighborhoods as the city’s highest-crime districts. Playas de Tijuana, the beachfront area popular with both locals and visitors from San Diego, will see a heavy military and police presence throughout the holiday period.
Prosecutors’ agents are embedded in patrol teams and authorized to execute outstanding arrest or search warrants during the operation. Tourist areas will receive constant surveillance, according to military officials.
60,000 Visitors Expected
Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz said the city expects more than 60,000 visitors during Holy Week. The municipal government announced its own parallel operation on March 25, deploying 1,208 municipal personnel and 665 vehicles, including patrol cars, motorcycles, fire trucks, drones, and rescue boats, through the city’s municipal police agency (SSPCM).
The military deployment comes just two weeks after Mexico’s Defense Department flew more than 1,000 additional Army troops into Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and León aboard three Air Force transport planes as part of the country’s National Public Security Strategy. That earlier reinforcement, announced March 19, was aimed at deterring criminal organizations operating in all three cities.
The combined Holy Week operation runs through the end of the holiday period. Authorities said the goal is both to reduce crime and to improve the perception of safety for residents and the tens of thousands of visitors crossing from the United States.
Originally reported by Punto Norte and Tijuana en Línea.