Two U.S.-based street gang members working for the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) were arrested in Tijuana over the weekend wearing cloned uniforms and carrying a light anti-armor weapon (LAW). Both were turned over to investigative personnel from the federal attorney general’s office.
Tijuana municipal police patrolling in colonia Nuevo Milenio observed a vehicle whose occupants were not wearing seat belts Sunday. Officers later noticed that both the driver and passenger were dressed in uniforms worn by the Special Operations Group of the Tijuana municipal police and the Mexican Army, according to local media reports.
Suspicions rose when police noticed insignias were missing from the uniforms. The vehicle occupants also could not furnish official credentials. Both men were detained and a search of the vehicle was performed, which led to the discovery of a light anti-armor weapon intended for targeting tanks. Officers also discovered an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine.
Upon questioning, it was determined that both were U.S.-based gang members from California. One was identified as a Logan Heights member from San Diego–which is a Mexican-American clique founded in the 1960s and has a history of working for the Tijuana Cartel (Cártel Arellano Félix-CAF). The Tijuana Cartel is currently aligned with the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), which are engaged in a bitter turf war with the Sinaloa Cartel. The second gang member is reportedly from Tijuana but is believed to also be an active gang member in the United States. Both displayed common Mexican-American street gang tattoos, according to Breitbart News law enforcement sources.
The Logan Heights gangs were implicated in the botched 1993 assassination of Joaquín Guzmán Loera aka “El Chapo” in Guadalajara, which instead killed a Roman Catholic cardinal in a case of mistaken identity. Six suspected San Diego-based gang members were arrested. An additional 30 Logan Heights gang members were believed to have served as soldiers for the Arellano Félix brothers of the Tijuana Cartel.
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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