The expansion and threats of CJNG in Tijuana

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article

Subject Matter: CJNG, Tijuana
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

The criminal families of Los Arzate and Los Uriate have united in a bid to contain the expansion of the CJNG in the East zone of Tijuana, which has resulted in a war, 443 people have been asassinated in four months. Operating with impunity, the cartels have initiated a campaign of intimidation against Police Chiefs, which they have done publicly with narco mantas.  The protagonists in this criminal struggle have no arrest warrants against them, even on the part of the PGJE of Baja California.

Reporter: Zeta Investigations
There had been an accord between the Cartels of Sinaloa, CJNG, and Arellano Felix. In Tijauana they had divided it up into various zones, but the CJNG have unilaterally changed and have started to move their marijuana and crystal meth through every zone in the City; recently the crews from he Sinaloa Cartel, the brothers Arzate Garcia "El Aquiles" and "La Rana", and Los Uriate have been operating separately confronting each other, they have temporarily combined to recoup the criminal activities, in the delegations of Los Pinos, La Presa, in East Tijuana and Sanchez Taboada. These are the thoughts of a member of the State Counsel for Public Security in order to explain the wave of executions that has shook the City, and the co locations of the Narco manta threats left on bodies.

Not being a major aside, in territorial terms, the jewel in the criminal crown in the delegation of Sanchez Taboada, where for the last three years, the CJNG established its illicit centre of criminal operations.




The investigator has arrived at this conclusion from the recent declarations of detained criminals. The same reports indicate that those of the Cartel Arellano Felix are not going to enter a war between Cartels, because they have diminished operations,  that has been established in the streets by the criminals in the service of "El Karateka" Carlos Garmino Gonzalez who was detained in February of 2016.

Up until now the confrontations have not included Mexicali nor San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, because these cities are the ports of entry for the drugs of the CJNG. There even though they have a large presence, it only functions as a reception centre for the drugs that are transported to the Costal zone, detailed the investigator.

According to the captured drug dealers, the heads of the Sinaloa criminals consider that Jalisco "has a lot of Government" that is to say complicit authorities in the PGR, and in various states, as well as in the Police and the three levels of Government, which is the reason why in the mafia narco mantas the threats are against members of the Police corporations.

Marco Sotomayor, Secretary of Public Security in Tijuana, received a telephone call from someone who identified himself as "Rene Arzate", who threatened his life and those close to him. In a similar manner, Jose Maria Gonzalez, Assistant Attorney General of the PGJE, was also contacted by a member of the CJNG and threatened.

Security Chiefs, Ministerial Police and the Sub-Secretary General in Tijuana have received telephone threats from narco trafficking groups. This is in spite of the deficient work that the authorities of the Coordination group are carrying out in matters of security, which has generated concern and complaints from business organizations, civil associations, and private citizens.

The only response that has been made by Governor Fransisco de Lamadrid is that he is also concerned about the growing violence; he regrets of not being able to speak about how to combat the strategy of the narco's as stated on March 27:

".... last month I was in Mexico City three times; twice to visit Sedena to deal with the issue and with the Attorney General of the Republic to deal with these things... it is frustrating for myself because I understand the concern of the people, however, this is a very important factor in fighting back".

In four months in Tijuana there have been 443 murders

According to the statistics of the Executive Secretary, in the first three years of the administration of Vega de Lamadrid, homicides have incremented more than 40 percent and the second part of his administration has fared no better.

Crime has intensified with the change in municipal authorities, to the extent in Tijuana, where more than 80 percent of the executions occur, in the first four months the new city councils have surpassed 100 homicides per month, when in 2016 the highest monthly total was September with 88 murders.

In December of 2016, the first month of the Governorship of Juan Manuel Gastelum, there were 112 executions recorded; 103 violent deaths in January, another 110 corpses in February, and 118 near the end of March. A total of 443 murders and still eight months to complete his first year of municipal government.

In 2017 and until the 28th of March, 332 have been killed, 300 men and 26 women and in seven cases of incinerated bodies the sex could not be determined. In addition, 220 have been shot, 33 strangled, 36 stabbed to death, 27 beaten to death, and 10 classified as other.

The delegations with the most murders are La Presa with 47, La Presa Rural with 37, another 37 in Los Pinos and 36 in Sanchez Taboada.

All of these cases show impunity, a circumstance that has been used by drug traffickers of different cartels, to demonstrate their criminal power and threaten officials and police.

Crime reports

On Sunday, March the 26th, a manta was hung on the East Zone bridge, an area that according to the State Security Council, is being heavily contested as the Sinaloa Cartel try and recover it from the CJNG. In the manta the threat was plain.

"Now they are going to know what it is to love God in Agena land, because that is Agena land for you dirty dolls of Jalisco, your fucking chief "El JP" takes it in his lizard ass and makes you call Cabo 8 here, you feel like assholes here, as well as Cabo 96 or Carlos Hinojosa Maldita four eyes, and your Bebe Cabo 39, bad traitor who killed his commander and turned, and you will also put your friend or your fucking cousin asshole, for 3000 pesos, but here they area going to suck together the fucking rat traitors, and pendejos of Meher, like the worst will end up in suitcases, and all your rats. ATTE your Sargento, you know who, fucking shit heads."


According to official reports, Victor Hugo Mejia "El Griego", a sicario of the Sinaloa Cartel, is who in this last year has started to call members of the CAF and ex members of the Sinaloa Cartel who currently work for CJNG as "dolls" in the Coastal Zone of Baja California.

The threats, conclude the investigators, is against Jesus Rafael Yocupicio "El Cabezon", Juan Jose Perez Vargas "El JP" of whom they assure are not in the city. Edgar Herrera Pardo "Cabo 8", "El Caiman" or "El Zame". They also make reference to "Cabo 96, Carlos Hinojosa and a "Bebe Cabo 39" who have not been identified by intelligence analysts.

"El Meher", according to unofficial data is Carlos Enriquez Castaneda, 26 years of age, assassinated by gunfire on 22nd March at Calle Sinaloa, opposite no.9 of the Los Pinos delegation; the bullet ridden corpse was found inside a vehicle of recent model with United States plates.

In respect of the authorities, they reported that Reynaldo Solano Cortez, detained on 30th of June of 2016, is part of the CJNG, and is identified as "El Cabo"; informed that his photos, name and nickname were known, he had decided to change his nickname, as did all the members of the CJNG that operate in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexicali and Tijuana, who now have a key assignation that started with Cabo 1, and so on.

Continuing Mafia communications

After the Manta of Sunday 26th of March, the communications from the mafia continued, the following day, Monday the 27th, on the Lomas Verdes bridge, an unidentified man was hung with a manta left tied around his neck, he had been tortured, the manta was attributed to the CJNG, the manta read;

Here no more are the CTNG, dont suck fuckers.

The day of threats continued on the Tuesday the 28th of March, although there were more executions, the manta messages were in smaller scale on placards; that day the Forensic Medical Service carried off six corpses, and only on two bodies were there mantas.

"This is going to happen to all those Cabos of Piolina in skirts, Atte: Joce Luis Mora Samora, this was placed on a dead body in Sanchez Taboada, and "this will happen to those who work with Las Chompas and Los Aquiles, Atte : CTNG, this was left on the body of a man shot while cycling in the El Florido subdivision.

The authorities do not consider these 6 homicides as a noticeable increase due to a new fight between criminal groups, because the output of those killed is constant, and on Thursday, March 23rd, before the mantas there were the same amount of homicides.

On Wednesday, March 29th, the statistics only recorded a single murder in the La Presa delegation, , the authorities did remove a manta, this time in a crowded area opposite the Macroplaza:

"We of the CTNG are not strangers and we fight for Tijuana to bring tranquility to our countrymen of Tijuana. You are dirty and pay you people that's why they switch. You have left the job of Patron to your people and they laugh behind your back because you say you are the Plaza boss of Tijuana but you are not. The people of Tijuana are not stupid, and you know this motherfucker is a cabron, and a dirty cabron does not sit well with the people. With metal and iron we give it to you in the ass, and your words are drowned out, hahaha Here the CTNG is stronger than ever Atte: your worst nightmares".

In this message, Jalisco claim to be victorious in the criminal contest against Victor Hugo Mejia "El Griego", who in his mantas usually signs them as "Iron and Metal".

They claim criminal control of the plaza but have no arrest warrants

To analyze the current conditions, this criminal struggle can only escalate, Cartels can continue to spread fear, terrorizing citizens, hanging mantas, killing people in the streets, leaving tortured or incinerated bodies on the street, and as mentioned none of those people mentioned have an arrest warrant against them or one requested by the PGJE.

Except for Alfonso Arzate, "Aquiles", the Sinaloa criminal jefe who has an old arrest warrant for homicide, the rest, despite being identified, and have been mentioned in previous investigations, enjoy impunity. On the side of Sinaloa, the plaza jefe, Victoria Higo Mejia "El Griego" and "El Uriate", also have no problems, in fact when they have been captured they are set free.

The same situation applies to the identified member of CJNG, who now claim to be CTNG, there are no arrest warrants against Manual Morales "El Gallero", or an arrest warrant against his sicarios, Jesus Rafael Yocupicio "El Cabezon", Juan Jose Perez Vargas "El JP", Edgar Alejandro Herraro Pardo "El Caiman" or "El Zame", or Kevin Gizado, Jonathan Lopez, Erasmo Valadez, Daniel Esparza, or the recently mentioned Carlos Hinojosa and Bebe Cabo 39.

Original article in Spanish at Zetatijuana