Tijuana municipal police arrested a 40-year-old man on Friday afternoon after catching him armed with a loaded pistol while guarding a drug sales point in the Infonavit Latinos neighborhood, located in the Sánchez Taboada district of eastern Tijuana.
Officers identified the suspect as Raúl Everardo. They intercepted him during a routine patrol at the intersection of Calle Ecuatorianos and Calle Cubanos. Police found him carrying a 9mm handgun loaded with two live rounds.
Suspect Turned Over to Federal Prosecutors
Authorities said Raúl Everardo was acting as an armed lookout for a criminal organization operating a retail drug sales point in the residential area. Municipal officers turned him over to the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), Mexico’s federal attorney general’s office, on charges of illegal firearm possession.
Under Mexican federal law, civilian possession of 9mm weapons is restricted. Even legally registered firearms require federal permits, and weapons commonly associated with criminal activity carry stiff penalties. The charge alone can result in several years in prison.
A Neighborhood With a Long History of Cartel Activity
Infonavit Latinos is a working-class housing development built decades ago by Mexico’s federal housing agency, INFONAVIT (Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores). The neighborhood sits well east of Tijuana’s tourist corridor along Avenida Revolución and the Zona Río commercial district.
The area has a documented history of drug-related violence. In October 2010, gunmen opened fire on a barbecue gathering in Infonavit Latinos, killing four men in their 20s during a spike that claimed 13 lives in two days across Tijuana. Criminal organizations have long used residential Infonavit developments as retail distribution points, stationing armed guards to protect sales operations and watch for rival groups or police.
Tijuana remains a contested territory for drug trafficking organizations. The city’s original cartel, founded by the Arellano Félix family in 1987, still operates in the region alongside factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. Turf disputes over retail drug markets in working-class colonias drive much of the city’s street-level violence.
Friday’s arrest was first reported by Punto Norte.