Tijuana municipal police arrested three men in the early hours of April 30 in connection with abandoning a murder victim inside a green Ford Explorer in the Zona Río district three days earlier.
Officers stopped the suspects on Boulevard Fundadores and identified them as the individuals responsible for leaving the body on April 27 near the intersection of Vía Rápida Poniente and Diego Rivera Avenue. The victim was found inside the running vehicle with his hands bound behind his back.
Suspects Identified From Three States
The three men were identified by first name only, following Mexican law enforcement protocol: Genaro, 38, originally from Chiapas; Rubén, 43, from Sinaloa; and José Rodrigo, 30, a Tijuana resident. During the stop, officers also recovered 18 packages of marijuana from the suspects.
All three have been turned over to the Baja California Attorney General’s Office (FGE) and face charges of homicide and drug dealing. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim or disclosed a possible motive for the killing.
Body Found in Busy Commercial District
The Zona Río area where the body was discovered is one of Tijuana’s most heavily trafficked commercial corridors. The intersection of Vía Rápida Poniente and Diego Rivera sits close to restaurants, hotels, and shopping centers frequented by both locals and cross-border visitors from San Diego.
Leaving a bound victim in a running vehicle in a high-visibility area is consistent with tactics used in organized crime disputes across northern Mexico, where public body disposals serve as messages to rival groups. Tijuana recorded more than 1,400 homicides in 2024, according to state data, and the city remains one of the country’s most violent municipalities.
The arrest stands out because municipal police tracked the suspects and made the stop just three days after the body was discovered. In many similar cases across Baja California, suspects in body abandonment incidents are never publicly identified or apprehended.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte on May 1, 2026.