Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda announced Tuesday that state authorities will investigate doctors at ISSSTECALI, the state employees’ health institute, for allegedly issuing fraudulent medical disability permits to nearly a third of Tecate’s municipal police force.
Sixty of the city’s 190 officers were found to be on disability leave, with some collecting police pay for up to three years while holding other jobs. State security officials said investigators discovered officers supposedly on medical leave who were actually working in the United States, driving taxis, or employed elsewhere.
Officers Found Working Other Jobs While Drawing Pay
Criminal complaints are being prepared against both the officers and the doctors who signed the permits. The governor’s announcement marks a significant escalation in what has become a sprawling corruption crisis within Tecate’s small police department.
State Attorney General María Elena Andrade Ramírez provided one especially striking detail. One officer was actively filing for disability at the exact moment he was arrested in connection with the murder of a state investigator. Prosecutors believe the officer may have learned he was under investigation and attempted to use the medical leave as cover to flee while retaining his badge and salary.
Scandal Tied to Cartel Infiltration
That arrest connects to earlier state investigations into Tecate officers allegedly acting as lookouts for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The cartel has been expanding its presence in Baja California’s border corridor in recent years, and Tecate, a city of roughly 110,000 people east of Tijuana, has become a flashpoint.
ISSSTECALI (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores de los Gobiernos del Estado de Baja California) provides health care and benefits to Baja California state and municipal employees. The institute’s doctors are the ones who authorize disability leave for public workers, including police. The investigation will focus on whether physicians rubber-stamped permits without legitimate medical cause, effectively enabling officers to abandon their posts.
A Depleted Force in a Border City
The practical effect of the scheme is severe. With 60 of 190 officers on paper only, Tecate’s actual patrol strength has been cut by roughly a third. The city sits along the U.S. border about 40 miles east of Tijuana and is a popular crossing point for travelers heading to and from San Diego County via Tecate’s quieter port of entry.
Tecate’s police corruption problems are not new. Online forums frequented by travelers have long flagged encounters with officers in the city engaging in shakedowns and other abuses. The state government’s decision to pursue criminal charges against both cops and the medical professionals who enabled them represents an unusual step toward accountability.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte on July 7, 2026.