Tijuana authorities recovered three bodies on Tuesday, June 17, in two unrelated incidents that underscore the city’s persistent struggle with violent crime. One body was found wrapped and abandoned in the Sánchez Taboada delegación, while two more were discovered inside a vehicle in the Otay Centenario neighborhood.
Wrapped Body Left Near Boulevard Lázaro Cárdenas
The first discovery came around 7:30 a.m. when residents near the intersection of Boulevard Lázaro Cárdenas and Calle 18 de Marzo reported a suspicious object on the sidewalk. Officers from the Policía Municipal arrived to find a body wrapped in material and left in plain view. The FGE (Baja California’s state attorney general’s office) took control of the scene and began processing evidence.
The Sánchez Taboada delegación, a sprawling zone in central Tijuana, has been a recurring location for this type of crime. So-called “encobijados,” bodies wrapped in blankets or tarps and dumped in public spaces, have long served as a grim marker of cartel activity in the city. The practice is widely understood as a message killing, meant to intimidate rivals or signal territorial control.
Tijuana recorded 1,013 homicides in 2024, according to data from the state’s Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana. That figure marked a slight decline from the 1,087 registered in 2023, but the city still ranks among the most violent in Mexico on a per-capita basis. The Sánchez Taboada and Zona Este delegaciones consistently account for the highest concentrations of homicides each year.
Two Bodies Found Inside Vehicle in Otay Centenario
Hours later, a second report brought officers to Otay Centenario, a residential area in eastern Tijuana near the Otay Mesa border crossing. Neighbors alerted police to a parked vehicle that appeared to contain human remains. When officers arrived, they confirmed two bodies inside the car.
The FGE dispatched forensic investigators to the Otay Centenario scene as well. Authorities have not released identities or causes of death for any of the three victims. No suspects have been detained in either case.
Otay Centenario sits roughly two kilometers south of the Otay Mesa port of entry, the busiest commercial border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. The neighborhood is part of a patchwork of colonias that have grown rapidly as Tijuana’s industrial sector expanded, drawing workers to maquiladoras clustered near the border. Population growth has outpaced infrastructure and policing resources in many of these eastern neighborhoods.
Tijuana Homicide Trends Show Persistent Violence Despite National Decline
Mexico’s national homicide rate has fallen for five consecutive years, dropping from a peak of roughly 36,000 in 2019 to about 28,000 in 2024. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has pointed to this decline as evidence that the federal security strategy, centered on the Guardia Nacional and intelligence-led operations, is producing results.
But Tijuana has not followed the national curve as sharply. The city’s homicide count has hovered above 1,000 per year since 2018, when a violent fracture within the Sinaloa Cartel’s local cells triggered a wave of killings that reshaped the city’s criminal landscape. The Cabeza de Vaca and Chapitos factions, along with remnants of the Arellano Félix organization, continue to contest drug retail points, or “tienditas,” across working-class colonias.
Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda launched a state security plan called “Fuerza de Paz” in 2023, combining state and municipal police with Guardia Nacional deployments in high-crime zones. Officials reported a 7% reduction in homicides statewide that year, though critics noted that other violent crimes, including kidnapping and extortion, remained underreported.
The city’s forensic infrastructure has also been strained. The Servicio Médico Forense (SEMEFO) facility in Tijuana has faced overcrowding for years, at times holding more than 500 unidentified bodies. In 2022, Baja California allocated 45 million pesos (roughly $2.5 million USD at the time) to expand cold-storage capacity at the facility.
Tuesday’s discoveries bring the count of bodies found in public spaces in Tijuana to at least 14 in June alone, based on local press tallies. The FGE has not issued a public statement connecting any of these cases. Investigations into all three deaths remain open, according to reporting by Cadena Noticias.