Baja California’s Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE, state attorney general’s office) announced the arrest of six suspects linked to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) following a wave of violence in Tecate, including an armed attack on the taqueria Mis Tíos last weekend that killed four people.
FGE head María Elena Andrade Ramírez said the agency’s primary line of investigation points to a CJNG cell operating across Tecate and Tijuana. Of the four most recent detainees, at least one is from the state of Jalisco. Weapons seized during the operations have been ballistically linked to four homicides in Tecate and eight more in Tijuana.
Two Municipal Police Officers Among Those Arrested
Two Mexicali municipal police officers, one active and one retired, were also arrested in connection with separate attacks that left two members of the Fuerza Estatal de Seguridad Ciudadana (FESC, state security force) dead. The arrests point to infiltration of local law enforcement by organized crime.
State Security Secretary Laureano Carrillo Rodríguez said the security strategy in Tecate will focus on working alongside municipal police while holding officers accountable. He added that investigators have not yet determined the specific motive behind the taqueria attack.
Cartel Alliance Collapse Fuels Violence
According to reporting by El Financiero, the violence stems from the collapse of a short-lived alliance between the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel in Baja California. The breakup triggered a turf war over municipalities used for drug trafficking routes into the United States, including Tijuana, Tecate, Mexicali, and Ensenada.
Factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, including a group known as La Mayiza, also maintain a presence in the state. Authorities believe this multi-sided confrontation explains the recent spike in homicides and armed attacks at public locations, including restaurants where rival groups target enemies and send messages to competitors.
The taqueria attack in Tecate came just days after a similar assault on another taqueria elsewhere in Baja California.
Governor Vows Continued Operations
Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda said investigations will continue “to the fullest extent” and confirmed that the security operation deployed in Tecate will remain active to reduce the criminal groups’ capacity to operate.
Tecate, a small border city about 35 miles east of Tijuana, has traditionally been considered quieter than its larger neighbor. The confirmed presence of a CJNG cell operating across both municipalities marks a shift in the security landscape for the region.
This story was first reported by El Imparcial and The Baja Post.