6 Facts About Tijuana Drug Cartel Violence: Kidnappings and Killings

Brutal drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico often makes headlines in newspapers across the world which is why we decided to create a list of 6 facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings. Organized crime groups focus their “business” on human and drug smuggling, extortion, kidnappings, car theft, killings, etc. Violence is a common trademark of many drug cartels which they use to settle various disputes and to scare their rivals as well as potential partners in crime. When it comes to countries that produce the most illegal drugs, according to our list of Countries that Produce The Most Illegal Drugs in The World, Mexico is ranked very high, at spot number three.

According to one analyst who estimated in the 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Mexico’s drug wars have taken more than 80,000 lives between 2006 and 2015. The cause of this many casualties is fierce rivalries between different drug cartels in Mexico where bystanders often end up as collateral damage.  CNN compiled a list of the major cartels in Mexico which include: Gulf Cartel, Juarez Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, Los Zetas Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and Arellano Felix Cartel also known as Tijuana Cartel. This cartel and its notorious crimes will be the topic of discussion for this list of 6 facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings.

Based in Tijuana, Mexico, Arellano Felix Organization is the most violent drug cartel in North America according to the article published by Public Broadcasting Service. When Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, the founder of Guadalajara Cartel, was arrested back in 1989, his organization broke down into two fractions: Sinaloa Cartel, led by notorious Joaquín Guzmán Loera also known as “El Chapo” and the Tijuana Cartel, led by Gallardo’s nephews, the Arellano Felix brothers. Tijuana Cartel is a family business which is partly responsible for their success for decades. The drug cartel family consisted of seven brothers and four sisters who ruled the streets of Mexico for years. With many brothers incarcerated or dead, it is believed that the business is now run by one of the sisters, Enedina Arellano Felix who is believed to be the first female drug lord, sometimes called “La Narcomami”. She survived the fall of her brothers as well as other kingpins, including “El Chapo” himself. Even though “La Narcomami” is more interested in getting money than killing and radiating fear, her brothers made sure that Tijuana Cartel has a bloody history.

While compiling this list of facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings, we searched for information on killings and kidnappings by the Tijuana Cartel on various media outlets including Insight Crime, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Reuters among other. We found the majority of information in the article entitled: “How DEA Agents Took Down Mexico’s Most Vicious Drug Cartel“. Since there isn’t a right way to sort the list, we didn’t sort it in any particular order. Some of the facts are chosen due to importance for the cartel and/or its downfall. The events presented on this list will give you an insight into the brutality of Tijuana’s cartel as well as the killings and kidnappings they have done. Now, let’s see our list of facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings.

6. Getting a proper leader for cartel’s assassins

You probably have in mind a lot of unrealistic movie scenes where the hero saves the day, even if he has to fight more than 10 people at once. Well, this is exactly the scene which helped the Arellano brothers to find a perfect leader for the cartel’s assassins. In 1992, Ramon and Javier Arellano were attacked by 40 assassins sent by “El Chapo”. One of Ramon’s bodyguards, David Barron Corona, killed the gunman and used his AK-47 to hold off the others while simultaneously he helped the obese Ramon to climb on the roof. Another assassin was waiting on the ground, and Barron killed him too, enabling both Ramon and Javier a safe passage. According to a detailed report on Tijuana Cartel published by The Atlantic, after this incident, Benjamin Arellano recognized Barron as a true warrior and gave him a mission: to gather a team of assassins who would kill “El Chapo”. Barron traveled to Logan Heights where he recruited around 30 people, and offered them $500 plus kill bonuses. The reward for killing Guzman was 1 million and a ranch. They were equipped like soldiers with AK-47s, night-vision goggles, and bulletproof vests. The report mentioned above states that these men, despite working for a drug cartel, were not allowed to use drugs. If caught, they will be “sentenced” to one month in detox holding cells built by Tijuana Cartel.  Second-time offenders would stay for two months in the detox holding cells while those who will break the order for the third time will be sentenced to death. Now, let’s see what’s next on our list of facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings.

5. Arellano Felix group kills Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo

Six months after the formation of Barron’s assassins, they traveled to Guadalajara to kill Guzman. Once  Guzman was spotted at the airport, Barron took the rifle, and Guzman’s bodyguards responded. Tijuana Cartel started shooting at white Grand Marquis (Guzman owned the same one) thus killing the passenger and the driver. After the shooting was over, all media outlets, including LA Times published the news that the passenger from the Grand Marquis was Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, one of the two Mexico’s Roman Catholic cardinals. Guzman fled to Guatemala, where he was arrested two weeks later, and Arellano brothers sent two cartel members to take the blame for the event, thus avoiding their incarceration. Besides the cardinal and his driver, two of Guzman’s bodyguards and five bystanders were killed.

4. Kidnappings as a valuable revenue source

We are continuing our list of facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings with the kidnappings in Mexico that are regularly used to enforce payments of drug transaction debts. Cartels would often kidnap a family member of the individual who owes them money. However, in the area controlled by Tijuana Cartel, kidnappings expanded into something else. After the Tijuana Cartel mistakenly killed Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, all eyes were on them. Because of this, the cartel’s leadership had to lay low until the situation got better. According to Nathan Jones’ comprehensive study of kidnap rates of Arellano-Felix Organization, during this period the Tijuana Cartel was profit-starved. Before 1993, almost all profits were derived from drug trafficking but, new era included kidnappings of high-profile targets if they needed extra money. Most of the kidnappings were attributed to El Teo faction, led by Eduardo Teodoro Garcia Simental (nicknamed “El Teo”). The victims were held for short periods meaning a lot of people could be kidnapped simultaneously. In order to protect themselves from kidnapping, business owners often agreed to pay “extortion tax”. Most of the male victims were killed while the female victims were raped.

3. The Stew Maker

One of the most horrifying facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings is Santiago Meza Lopez’s involvement with the cartel. In 2009, the police arrested Santiago Meza Lopez, a man who claims he worked for “El Teo” of Tijuana Cartel. He was nicknamed “El Pozolero” or the stew maker because his job was to dispose the bodies of the victims in metal drums filled with sodium hydroxide. The process of dissolving the bodies was compared to making a pozole, traditional Mexican stew. The authorities claim that he dissolved at least 300 bodies during his 9 year-long reign as El Teo’s stew maker. Families of hundreds of missing people protested and requested meetings with Santiago Meza Lopez, believing that he could give them the answers if their loved ones were amongst the bodies disposed by the cartel. You can read more on “El Pozolero” on this link. The place where he disposed the remains of the dissolved bodies was turned into a memorial, giving the families a dignified place where they could remember their loved ones.

2. Killing one of their own

If you thought that brutal killings were reserved only for their rivals or those who might’ve crossed them, you are wrong. Anyone who could pose a threat to Tijuana Cartel was better dead than alive, even if it was one of their own. Eduardo Arellano, dubbed “El Doctor” was the most reclusive of all Arellano brothers which could be the reason why he was captured the last. After being tipped off by a corrupt Mexican police officer, Eduardo fled with his wife Sonia and two children, to a safe house whose construction was not completely over and the house was not yet safe to live in. They used a propane tank for cooking, and one morning in 1998, the tank exploded leaving the whole family with severe burns. Eduardo’s infant son died despite the fact that the kids and his wife Sonia were sent over the border for treatment. She blamed Eduardo for the accident while his brothers believed that she was a danger for the cartel. In 2000, his brother Benjamin ordered her assassination while Javier gave the exact instructions. After being strangled, Sonia’s body was dissolved into “pozole”. They planned to tell Eduardo that she fled to U.S., but he never asked a single question about his wife’s disappearance. Unlike Eduardo, Sonia’s mother and sister started asking questions, and they were also killed by Benjamin. Now, let’s see the number one on our list of facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings.

1. Bloody battle for control

In 2008, Tijuana became the most violent city in Mexico. The war between the cartels was led along the border between the United States and Mexico. The brutality of killings peaked and corpses sending different messages were displayed everywhere: some had their tongues cut out because they talked too much, some had their fingers cut out while some were castrated. The bloodbath in Tijuana lead to the arrest of Eduardo Arellano Felix, the last remaining brother who ran the Tijuana cartel. During this year, around 2,700 lives were lost due to cartel-related violence. On April 26, 2008, a major battle took place in Tijuana. Among the fifteen dead were two senior hitmen for the Arellano Felix Cartel. Reports say that the Tijuana Cartel fought with Sinaloa Cartel over the control of their territory. With the majority of the Arellano Felix family being dead or incarcerated, the power of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartel is fading away. Today, the cartel still exists under the command of “La Narcomami” but the brutality and violence cannot match to the Tijuana Cartel of the 90s. The homicide numbers fell to under 400 since the Sinaloa Cartel became the dominant group in Tijuana, We hope that you found out some interesting information on our list of 6 facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings.