The cartel-related violence in Tijuana continues with at least 814 killed in 2019. At least 16 people were murdered in a 36-hour period this past weekend.
The violence included the grisly discovery of an unidentified male’s head inside a garbage bag dumped in colonia Niño Artillero Saturday. In another find, an unknown male victim believed to have died by strangulation was reported in colonia Murúa Campestre. The corpse was left on a gray canvas in a dirt lot with visible signs of trauma to his face and body.
Another victim was located in the Hacienda Las Delicias III neighborhood. The unknown male was found in advanced stages of decomposition, wrapped in a rug at the bottom of a ditch. It was determined that the victim was shot in the face and chest. A short time later, two males were found abandoned on a public road in colonia Buenos Aires Sur. They were identified as Alejandro Esqueda Inocencio, 32, and Jorge Alberto Inocencio Aguilera, 39. Investigators determined both victims died from multiple gunshots.
An additional five other male homicide victims were reported in various locations throughout Tijuana, according to local media reports.
On Sunday morning, a homicide was reported by authorities in the Pontevedra section. The victim was a male who died from multiple gunshot wounds. At approximately 11 am on Sunday, another unidentified male was murdered in colonia Jardín Dorado after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was treated by the Red Cross–but died at the scene.
During the late hours of Sunday, at least two additional murder victims were reported in separate locations. Both died from gunshots. Police also responded to colonia Zona Urbana Ejido Chilpancingo, where several dismembered human remains were discovered on the side of the road with a narco-banner message. The remains consisted of a human head, torso, and several extremities.
The record-breaking cartel violence in Tijuana is attributed to turf wars involving Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG), aligned with El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, against the Sinaloa Cartel. Lower criminal actors engaged in street-level drug sales on behalf of the major cartels consist of the majority of murder victims, in addition to the local addicts who push product to supply their own habits.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)
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