Residents of the Ejido Francisco Villa neighborhood in Tijuana discovered the bodies of a man and a woman wrapped in black plastic bags on the morning of Tuesday, June 9. The remains were found at the intersection of Tonalá and Zapotecas streets in the Mariano Matamoros sub-delegation, located in eastern Tijuana.
Neighbors reported two suspicious bundles to authorities before police and forensic teams arrived at the scene. Officials have not yet released the identities of the victims or a possible motive.
A Pattern in Eastern Tijuana
The discovery of bodies left in plastic bags is a well-documented method associated with organized crime in Tijuana. The Mariano Matamoros area, a sprawling hillside zone roughly 10 miles southeast of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, has long been a hotspot for cartel-related violence.
In April 2026, a body showing signs of blunt-force trauma was found wrapped in a sleeping bag along a busy intersection in eastern Tijuana, according to Border Report. That incident followed a similar pattern of remains being abandoned in public areas.
Tijuana has struggled with record-level homicide counts in recent years, driven largely by territorial disputes between rival drug trafficking organizations. The city’s eastern periphery, including the Mariano Matamoros sub-delegation, has been disproportionately affected by this violence.
What Authorities Have Said
The Baja California Fiscalía General del Estado (FGE), the state attorney general’s office, is expected to lead the investigation. As of Tuesday morning, no arrests had been announced. Forensic teams were processing the scene to determine cause of death and identify the victims.
The intersection of Tonalá and Zapotecas sits in a residential area that is not frequented by tourists or foreign residents. Mariano Matamoros is located well away from Tijuana’s main commercial zones, the Zona Río district, and the border crossing areas that most visitors use.
Tijuana’s municipal police and state investigators have increased operations across the eastern periphery in recent months, though specific enforcement details have not been made public. The area remains one of the city’s most challenging security zones.
This story was first reported by Zeta Tijuana.