El Omega Possibly Arrested in Mexicali

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat

Update 1/4/2022: New photo allegedly of El Omega, photo credit to GHOSTDEVIIL on Twitter.

Update 12/28/2021: Milenio newspaper has now confirmed that El Omega and his brother have been arrested. See the update section below for further details.

Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano, alias "El Omega", a leader from the Sinaloa Cartel subgroup Los Rusos, has allegedly been arrested in the border city of Mexicali in Baja California. 

Weekly newspaper Zeta Tijuana writes that “the photos show the resemblance of the arrested man to ‘El Omega’, but authorities are also analyzing the possibility that it could be his brother named Christian Jael, who has been arrested before.”

The brother in question, Christian Jael.

The Arrest

Sometime on December 27, 2021, the emergency phone line allegedly received a report of a recent model off-road vehicle with men inside who were firing long barrel firearms. Witnesses reported the vehicle was driving on Cetys Roadway in the “Zona Dorada”, or the Golden Zone neighborhood of the city of Mexicali. Police officers were dispatched to respond to the report. 

The vehicle, a white Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, was later spotted by a patrol car and the officers signaled for the vehicle to pull over for a stop however the Rubicon ignored the request, choosing instead to speed away. This led to a vehicle pursuit on Aeropuerto highway which ended when the white Rubicon ran into a housing unit within the Segovia residential subdivision. 

Photo of the white Jeep Wrangler Rubicon taken after the crash. Photo added 12/28/2021.

Municipal officers then successfully detained those inside the vehicle, five men who were found to be in possession of several short barrel and long barrel firearms.

Initially, no information was provided regarding the identities of the detained. However, Zeta Tijuana writes that “one of the versions stated Barajas Lozano [El Omega] was arrested.”

Photo added 12/28/2021.

The detainees were then brought to the Mexicali Municipal Police headquarters. A large amount of both military and law enforcement support were sent to guard the headquarters to protect the facilities from potential cartel organized break-out attempts meant to free El Omega. The area is currently under guard by several Army (SEDENA) units as well as State Security and Investigation Guard (GESI) units. 

Photo added 12/28/2021.

Zeta Tijuana writes that “the detainees have given several false names and information in an attempt to confuse the authorities.”

Photo added 12/28/2021.

They also report that sources from the police station claim that the detainee could be the brother of Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano, "El Omega",  named Christian Jael. But Zeta added that “the face of the detainee in the image circulated to the media, of the individual in the patrol car, suggests otherwise.”

Photos

Photo of the white Jeep Rubicon off-road vehicle being towed by law enforcement following the arrests. Photo Credit: Cristian Torres for Zeta Tijuana

Photo of an officer guarding the Mexicali municipal police headquarters. Photo Credit: Cristian Torres for Zeta Tijuana 

Alleged photos of one of the men detained who is suspected of either being El Omega or his brother.

The Statements By The Governor

Governor for the state of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda hosted an interview with the press outside the Centro Estatal de las Artes (CEART) in Mexicali. The governor stated that they are analyzing the identity of one of the detainees and that the Municipal Police have not yet been able to confirm his identity using fingerprints. 

Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda speaking to reporters on December 27, 2021.

Governor Avila Olmeda confirmed various details of the initially reported story, confirming that the arrest of the detainees took place in “Zona Dorada” and that there was a vehicle chase with Municipal Police officers. She also told reporters that due to the detainees the number of security personnel was reinforced at several points across the city of Mexicali, as well as at the police headquarters in Anahuac.

The Update

Milenio newspaper is now reporting that El Omega has been arrested alongside his brother and two women, making the total number of detainees four. Meanwhile, PeriodismoNegro has repeated Zeta Tijuana’s allegation that there are a total of five detainees. 

Milenio’s coverage also details that their vehicle crashed into a tree, not a unit of a residential subdivision although the newly added photo above may suggest otherwise. Police allegedly seized a long barrel firearm and a short barrel firearm, along with ammo, from the possession of the detainees.

The Cartel Landscape of Mexicali

The Mexicali corridor is a profitable region for drug smuggling across the US-Mexico border. According to both Zeta Tijuana and Insight Crime, it is currently primarily controlled by the group Los Rusos, which is a faction under the El Mayo side of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

Of note, historically Baja California has been more the domain of Ismael  Zambada, alias “El Mayo” within the Sinaloa Cartel structure rather than Joaquín Guzmán, alias “El Chapo”, who has more ties to the Sonora area, or at least this was the belief during the time before Chapo's final 2016 capture by Mexico and his subsequent US extradition.

Eduardo Barajas Lozano, alias "El Omega", is believed to be the second-in-command of Los Rusos and the right-hand man to the leader of Rusos, Jesus Alexánder Sánchez Félix, alias "El Ruso".

Some of Omega’s top Baja lieutenants are believed to be Alfonso Peralta / Alfonso Amaya, aliases "El P1" and "El Poncho de la Lima", as well as a lieutenant known only by his alias “El 80”.

It is generally believed that El Ruso himself is more involved in leading the fights in Sinaloa against the Los Chapitos side of the Sinaloa Cartel. These fights are seen most often in areas north of the city of Culiacán, such as the recent October 20, 2021 battle in Tepuche and the July 13, 2021 battle in Tecolotes.

El Ruso is also, at times, actively involved in the fights in Sonora, especially in San Luis Rio Colorado according to Animal Politico. While El Rusos is preoccupied with the power struggles in Sinaloa, El Omega is reportedly left to take care of the Rusos fights in the state of Baja California. 

Rusos are primarily contested by a different faction with the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Salazars, who are Los Chapitos aligned and stronghold the western US-Mexico border crossings of the neighboring state of Sonora. The nearby city of San Luis Rio Colorado, a key Sonora port of entry to the US, is often used as a launching point for Los Salazar attacks on Rusos cartel members, as Salazars try to build up their influence within Mexicali. 

The overall head of Los Salazars is allegedly José Crispín Salazar Zamorano, alias “Tío Pin”. The Salazar lieutenant thought to be tasked with leading this campaign to take Mexicali is Eduardo Molina Flores, alias “El Zabe”.

Please note: This is a breaking story and initial reporting may be inaccurate. 

Sources: Zeta Tijuana Article 1, Article 2, SintesisTV, Pregonero de Baja, AFN Tijuana

Update Sources: Milenio, PeriodismoNegro

Previous Articles on Los Rusos & El Omega:

August 2021 - Los Rusos Expanding in Mexicali 

October 2021 - Los Garibays Ally With Salazars To Fight Los Rusos for Mexicali