A territorial war between two allied cartels and a rival faction is driving a rise in homicides across the mountain communities east of Tecate, Baja California’s top security official confirmed on Wednesday, June 17. Secretary of Public Security Laureano Carrillo Rodríguez identified three flashpoint areas: El Hongo, Nueva Colonia Hindú, and Valle de las Palmas. The conflict pits a faction of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) allied with Los Chapitos against Los Mayos, a rival wing of the same Sinaloa Cartel. For anyone who drives the Tecate corridor to reach Mexicali or the wine country, the geography of this fight matters.
Two Cartel Splits Created the Tecate Cartel Violence
The conflict now playing out in Tecate’s mountains traces back to fractures inside Mexico’s two most powerful criminal organizations. The Sinaloa Cartel split into two hostile camps after the arrest of co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in July 2024. Zambada was lured onto a plane and flown to Texas, where U.S. authorities arrested him alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of imprisoned kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. That betrayal shattered any remaining unity. Los Chapitos, the faction led by Guzmán’s sons, and Los Mayos, the wing loyal to Zambada’s lieutenants, began fighting for control of trafficking routes across northern Mexico.
The CJNG experienced its own crisis on February 22, 2026, when federal forces killed founder Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” during an operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco. His death triggered highway blockades and vehicle burnings across multiple states, including Baja California. Carrillo Rodríguez said the CJNG has since fractured internally, with some factions seeking new alliances. In the Tecate mountain zone, one CJNG splinter group aligned with Los Chapitos. Together, they are fighting Los Mayos for control of smuggling corridors near the U.S. border.
Carrillo Rodríguez described the alliance as confirmed through intelligence gathered during arrests and through 911 calls from residents reporting armed groups. “It is a confrontation between them,” he said at Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda’s weekly press conference. “They are not directly attacking citizens, but fighting each other for territorial control.” Still, he acknowledged that bystanders can be caught in crossfire during shootouts.
El Hongo, Nueva Colonia Hindú, and Valle de las Palmas Sit on Key Smuggling Routes
The three communities at the center of the violence are small, rural, and strategically located. El Hongo sits along Federal Highway 2, the main road connecting Tecate to Mexicali, roughly 30 kilometers east of Tecate’s city center. Nueva Colonia Hindú lies in the same mountain corridor. Valle de las Palmas is a growing settlement about 40 kilometers west of Tecate along the road toward Tijuana. All three sit in terrain that is mountainous, sparsely populated, and difficult to patrol.
The area near Cerro Cuchumá, a peak that straddles the U.S. border just east of the Tecate port of entry, has drawn particular security attention. Carrillo Rodríguez addressed questions about conditions there, noting that cartel operatives use the rugged terrain for cross-border smuggling. The mountain zone offers cover and multiple unpaved routes that connect to both the border and the highway system.
Carrillo Rodríguez said a joint operation involving the Mexican Army (SEDENA), Navy (SEMAR), National Guard, FGR (Mexico’s federal attorney general’s office), FGE (Baja California’s state attorney general), and municipal police is now active in the area. He pointed to six consecutive days without an attack as evidence that operations are working, though he called the three-month homicide increase a “slight” rise without providing specific numbers.
Tecate Highway Corridor Carries Expat and Tourist Traffic
Federal Highway 2 between Tecate and Mexicali is a route that wine country visitors, Valle de Guadalupe weekenders, and Mexicali-bound travelers use regularly. The conflict zone around El Hongo sits directly along this corridor. Tecate’s city center and its port of entry have not been identified as conflict areas. The violence is concentrated in the rural stretches between communities, particularly at night.
Travelers using the Tecate route should plan daytime departures and avoid stopping in isolated areas between Tecate and La Rumorosa. Valle de las Palmas, closer to Tijuana, sits near the toll road that connects to the Otay Mesa area. Drivers heading to or from Tijuana’s eastern suburbs may pass through or near this community.
State authorities have not issued road closures or formal travel advisories for the highway corridor. But the security secretary’s public confirmation of an active cartel war in these specific locations is unusual in its specificity. Mexican officials rarely name the factions involved or describe their alliances so directly.
The next scheduled update on security conditions in the Tecate zone is expected at Governor Ávila Olmeda’s weekly press conference. This story was first reported by Punto Norte.