For residents of Boulevard Fundadores, where Tijuana’s public mortuary is located, change cannot come fast enough. Overall Crime and Safety Situation. Revealed: Mexico had the five most dangerous cities in the world in 2019, including the border town of Tijuana which registered 134 murders per 100,000 residents Available for everyone, funded by readers. [again] But nearly a year later there is scant sign of progress, as the country reels from a series of humiliating high-profile attacks and murder statistics surge to levels not seen even during the darkest days of Felipe Calderón’s 2006-2012 “war on drugs”. At 6am a man’s body was found dumped in the eastern neighbourhood of Emperadores. The Cancun area, a … But like so much of the bloodletting, the case would go unreported by newspapers, unnoticed by society and unsolved by the police. And at 2.45pm an unidentified killer barged into a home on Calle Tamaulipas, pulled out a gun and brought an unidentified male’s life to an end. “She was a decent girl, a good-looking girl – she was always smiling,” said her longtime boyfriend’s father as shellshocked relatives gathered outside and crime scene officers prepared to transport Rojas’s body to the city’s overburdened morgue. Thursday, June 27, 2019. A man was hauled semi-conscious from a hillside shooting gallery and hoisted into the ambulance, his arms bound with bandages to prevent him lashing out. It has been just over a decade since a savage turf war for control of drug smuggling routes into the United States made Tijuana one of the most ill-famed cities on Earth. “Municipal police officers mounted an operation to track down the person thought responsible for the attack,” one local tabloid reported – though in a country where more than 90% of crimes go unpunished there was no indication they had succeeded. “You couldn’t go out because you were scared of what might happen,” recalled Dora Elena Cortés, a local journalist whose Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias chronicled the butchery. What had happened? Tijuana surpassed 2,000 homicides in 2019, largely due to cartel turf wars. Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, just across the U.S. border, lead the nation and continent in homicides with more than 2,200 and 1,000 respectively in 2018. The 2,000-death mark was reached after several attempts by the federal government to deploy additional personnel to the beleaguered city. Sat 16 Feb 2019 04.00 EST. “It’s devastating what is happening here,” said the man, who asked not to be named. Map of homicides in Mexico from December 2019 to November 2020. ( Alfonso Margarito Martinez Esquivel) Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. But Tijuana’s murder rate is now soaring once again with the slaughter so routine that one local newspaper features a muertómetro (deathometer) to help readers keep track. Mexico experienced a record 33,241 murders nationwide in 2018, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year. Illuminated in the the red and blue lights of emergency vehicles, a half-naked man lay in a pool of blood, shot through the thigh and fighting for his life. Amlo also pledged to chair daily 6am security meetings and create a 60,000 strong "National Guard". In the span of three days, 31 murders were reported to local investigators and police in Tijuana, pushing the total body count in one of the most violent cities in … That appeared to be what was at stake on the night of 8 October when dozens of heavily armed police descended on a petrol station after a drive-by shooting left four men injured, one critically. “We can’t open our windows.”. Under Calderón’s successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, the government’s rhetoric on crime softened as Mexico sought to shed its reputation as the headquarters of some the world’s most murderous mafia groups. The local magazine Zeta recently reported 385 murders in all of Baja California from December 1, 2016 through February 22, 2017 — more than 80% of which occurred in Tijuana. “I don’t doubt he has good intentions. In fact, many believe such tactics served only to pulverize the world of organized crime, creating even more violence as new, less predictable factions squabbled for their piece of the pie. The report says 8,493 people were murdered from 1 … But by day two the slaughter had resumed. “So far nothing has changed – absolutely nothing,” he said of López Obrador’s first year in power. González, a López Obrador ally, claimed that had not happened in several years and voiced frustration the media had ignored the achievement. Tijuana once again topped the list as the city in Mexico with the highest number of homicides in 2019, surpassing other municipalities across the country by hundreds of killings. Negative headlines sparked government action and by 2012 the number of annual murders had plunged. Investigators reported several 9mm shell casings next to the deceased. Local news reporters uncover a conspiracy after a Mexican presidential candidate is gunned down in the streets of Tijuana. Tijuana closed the year with 2,000 homicides for the year, about 200 less than in 2019 when it recorded 2208 murders. The first three months of 2019 have seen a 9.6% increase in murders in Mexico, official figures suggest. The totals are slightly down in comparison to 2018 when 1,201 deaths were registered in the first six months. Tijuana is in the midst of its worst series of murders – 2,513 recorded killings last year There was an explosion of carnage in 2008 as El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel tried to muscle in on what had long been the domain of the locally based Tijuana mob. Tijuana continues to notch an alarming rate of cartel-related homicides with at least 150 tallied in March. Mexico’s new President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador – … “It is out of control.”. “Corruption is the mother of all evils, because it affects everything,” González said. “It’s horrible. On the afternoon of 9 October, as Brianna Rojas’s mother came to recover her daughter’s corpse, the cloying stench of decomposing bodies hung in the air. This was a large increase from previous years; the homicide rate grew from 16.9 murders per 100,000 people in 2015 to 27.3 per 100,000 in 2018. Tijuana ended 2018 with more than 2,500 homicides, its most deadly year on record.In 2017, the city saw 1,744 homicides. As Mexico’s military went on the offensive, the body count sky-rocketed to new heights and tens of thousands were forced from their homes, disappeared or killed. Earlier this week, Breitbart Texas reported about 18 homicides recorded in the Tijuana metropolitan area in less than a 24-hour period. At 11.35am a decomposing pair of legs were spotted on wasteland in the city’s south. But what they are doing isn’t enough.”. Clark, the expert who has spent decades tracking Tijuana’s security situation, was pessimistic such tactics alone would work. Tijuana once again topped the list as the city in Mexico with the highest number of homicides in 2019, surpassing other municipalities across the country by hundreds of killings. Investigators barked questions at the man’s three accomplices as they lay bleeding in the corridor. Tijuana now has an average of 138 murders per 100,000 citizens, well ahead of the Acapulco in Mexico, which took out second place. Tijuana: 6 murders and human remains with narcomensaje from CDS Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat from ZETA thank you Neal! Drug gang rivalries led to more than 2.500 homicides last year, making Tijuana the murder capital of the world. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed dangerous cities – the ones with the highest reported murder rates – as reported by a Mexico-based advocacy group. Investigators reported recovering at least one .45 caliber shell casing at the scene. The border city is now approaching its 2018 record of 2,518 killings. “I’ll see you later!” friends remember the 20-year-old calling out as she headed to her insurance company’s bright yellow offices on Tijuana’s Calle del Carmen. In some areas of the city, rival factions or gangs aligned within the Sinaloa Cartel are fighting among each other for control of the lucrative street-level markets and smuggling routes into the United States. Of course, the concern is understandable. But the violence went on. Every single day we breathe death,” fumed one local woman who has been campaigning to get the morgue moved. Posted by Contributing Editor on December 21, 2019 in Crime | Leave a response Share this article: The body of an unidentified person was found Saturday in the Tijuana … When “El Chapo” was arrested in early 2016, Mexico’s president bragged: “Mission accomplished”. Tijuana now has an average of 138 murders per 100,000 citizens, well ahead of the Acapulco in Mexico, which took out second place. Police located the victims after responding to a 911 call at approximately 2:20am in colonia Cañón de la Raza in the Cerro Colorado section. Posted on June 21, 2019 by Robert Arce Tijuana Cartel War: 18 Murdered in 24 Hours Tijuana continues to notch cartel-related homicides with 18 registered in a 24-hour period from Wednesday to Thursday morning. With Damián Alcázar, Tamara Vallarta, Rolf Petersen, Claudette Maillé. During the last two days of March, at least seven people were murdered with the first recorded during the early hours of Saturday, when the body of an … Continue reading "Tijuana: 150 Murders in March — 514 in 2019" Tijuana has seen a methamphetamine-fuelled … The U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana does not assume responsibility for the professional ability or integrity of the persons or firms appearing in this report. Mexican news outlet Milenio on July 1 published its unofficial count of murders in Mexico for the first half of 2019. Mexico’s “war on drugs” began in late 2006 when the president at the time, Felipe Calderón, ordered thousands of troops onto the streets in response to an explosion of horrific violence in his native state of Michoacán. Mexican news outlet Milenio on July 1 published its unofficial count of murders in Mexico for the first half of 2019. Tijuana Red Cross responds to the scene of a homicide where a roughly 35-year-old man was shot in the back of the head. With 140 killings per 100,000 people, Tijuana is now one of the deadliest cities in the world. There were three homicides in the city on Jan. 1 alone. “An accident,” a police investigator snapped, shooing reporters away as forensic science officers marked each of the entry holes with white cards marked A-K. Created by Zayre Ferrer, Daniel Posada. World. The border city is now approaching its 2018 record of 2,518 killings. Outside Tijuana’s general hospital a bullet-riddled people-carrier bore witness to the latest gunfight. A 2019 study by University of San Diego’s Justice in Mexico research program revealed that there was record violence in Mexico, with 28,816 reported homicides, and 33,341 victims. Last modified on Mon 4 Nov 2019 09.54 EST. “It was an era of great psychological terror.”. 31 killed during 3-day period in Tijuana’s deadly crime wave One person was found dead and one injured in Colonia Buenos on July 29, 2019. Mexico 2019 Crime & Safety Report: Tijuana. That policy resulted in some high-profile scalps – notably Arturo Beltrán Leyva who was gunned down by Mexican marines in 2009 – but also did little to bring peace. Another victim identified as José Refugio Pirul González, 40, died at approximately 10:30am on Monday from severe injuries sustained in what investigators believe was a physical beating. As ambulance technicians strapped the blood-spattered man to a stretcher with silver duct tape, a police officer claimed he was a convicted burglar probably shot while trying to rob a local home. There was a total of 2,518 murders registered in 2018. Tijuana once again topped the list as the city in Mexico with the highest number of homicides in 2019, surpassing other municipalities across the country by hundreds of killings. Hugs and bullets: the battle to pacify Mexico, Mexico in the drug war: ‘A cemetery of bodies with no story, and stories with no body’. The victim sustained what appeared to be an execution-style gunshot wound to the head. Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. State and local police investigate a murder in Tijuana on March 10, 2019. “He got shot in the skull,” one of the team said. The cartel war in Tijuana continues with homicides topping 1,101 for 2019 (217 in June). Milenio counted 2,249 murders in June alone, the highest monthly number the news outlet has recorded since it began keeping its own tally in 2007. But Calderón’s policies largely survived, with authorities targeting prominent cartel leaders such as Sinaloa’s Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. During an interview at Tijuana’s brutalist city hall he reiterated the president’s doctrine that crime would only be stopped by rehabilitating Tijuana’s “social fabric” and eradicating corruption. If they had not been, no one would know about this – they would probably be just two more murder victims in Tijuana.” Weeks after the murders… “It will be virtually impossible to achieve peace without justice and [social] welfare,” Amlo said, promising to slash the murder rate from an average of 89 killings per day with his “hugs not bullets” doctrine. The leftwing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador took power in December, promising a dramatic change in tactics. Fox News Brief 07-04-2019 09AM Mexico saw a record number of murders in the first six months of the year, with an average 94 killings each day, according to the Mexico News Daily. There were 2,000 last year with another 2,208 in 2019. MEXICO CITY — Mexico has confirmed that 2019 was its most murderous year in recent history as homicides ticked up 2.7 percent during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's first … The bloodshed is generally related to a bitter turf war involving Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG), aligned with El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, against the Sinaloa Cartel. Arce completed work assignments in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year tour in Monterrey, Mexico, for the U.S. Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program. But by lunchtime Rojas was dead – shot in the head at close range by an unknown assassin whose attack pushed the number of homicides here to almost 1,800 so far this year, and nearly 26,000 nationwide. Tijuana surpassed 2,000 homicides in 2019, largely due to cartel turf wars. Both were reportedly shot execution-style, according to Breitbart Texas law enforcement sources and local media. To explore the violence blighting Latin America’s number two economy the Guardian spent seven days reporting from Tijuana – one of the world’s most deadly cities – between 4 and 11 October. The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report’s publication assesses Mexico at Level 2, indicating travelers should exercise increased caution due to crime.. “These deaths aren’t about the fight for control of the routes into the US. © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. So far this year, the violence has shown no signs of slowing. Drug gang rivalries led to more than 2.500 homicides last year, making Tijuana the murder capital of the world. When Andrés Manuel López Obrador became Mexico’s president last December he vowed to “pacify” one of Latin America’s most violent nations by waging war on the social roots of crime. Authorities and academics blame the new wave of violence on a largely hidden dispute for Tijuana’s drug trade – particularly that of crystal meth – although Brianna Rojas’s murder did not seem to fit that mould. The murders are being blamed on smaller drug organizations that are now meeting the local drug demand, something that didn't exist 10 years ago when most of the narcotics were exported to the U.S. Tijuana had 2,519 murders in 2018 ... And with 2019 already on-track to surpass that number, tensions are mounting. Milenio counted 2,249 murders in June alone, the highest monthly number the news outlet has recorded since it began keeping its own tally in 2007. Corpses were hung from bridges and shootouts raged, even in the city’s most glitzy corners. Each of these has a murder rate above 80 per 100,000 citizens. The city sits at 514 murders for 2019 thus far. After a 10-minute race to the hospital, he was carried in past police with white skulls stamped on to their black uniforms and rifles slung from their shoulders. Violence in the state has cost the lives of as many as 1,476 people between January and June, with 60% of the violent murders being reported in the border city of Tijuana. When first responders arrived they encountered a fearful scene: the victim slumped backwards in a black swivel chair, her arms flopping downwards towards a pool of blood as if she had been caught completely by surprise. The 2019 rate equals an average of 95 murders per day in Mexico a country that has been plagued with violence since 2006, when the government deployed the military to … Simultaneously Calderón also began pursuing the so-called “kingpin strategy” by which authorities sought to decapitate the cartels by targeting their leaders. Another murder victim was reported in colonia Ejido Matamoros Horóscopo. The color of the circles corresponds to the homicide rate and the size to the number of homicide reports (which may refer to more than one victim). There is serious risk from crime in Tijuana. State and local police investigate a murder in Tijuana on March 10, 2019. The most recent documented acts of violence began late Sunday and during the early hours of Monday with the discovery of two unidentified murder victims between the ages of 30 and 50. Mayor González admitted it was “unreal” to expect an immediate end to Tijuana’s murder crisis but hoped the body count could be reduced and insisted the city’s “economic dynamism” remained unaffected. Updated: 7:42 PM PDT August 26, 2019 TIJUANA, Baja California — A U.S. citizen was among six victims gunned down in a mass shooting in Tijuana on … They’re fighting over the local market,” said Clark. The Guardian’s week had an unusually peacefully start, with not a single murder recorded in the first 24 hours, according to the newly elected mayor, Arturo González Cruz. With spring break right around the corner, our Threat Lens team is once again in demand, as clients — along with a wide array of friends and family — are all wondering about the safety of a Mexican getaway for some spring sun. Pickpockets mostly target large crowds on public transportation and at tourist attractions. “The state has lost control,” said Victor Clark, a security expert and activist based in the city. valleycentral.com In 2020, Tijuana reached grim milestone: 2,000 murders López Obrador, or Amlo as most call him, vowed to attack the social roots of crime, offering vocational training to more than 2.3 million disadvantaged young people at risk of being ensnared by the cartels. Tijuana has seen a methamphetamine-fuelled murder epidemic which produced a record 2,518 murders in 2018 and looks set to cause even more this year. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Tijuana Red … “It’s a punishment … a message,” speculated one of the first responders. “At night it’s like there are 60 dead dogs lying out here,” the woman complained of the reek. By the time Peña Nieto left office in 2018, Mexico had suffered another record year of murders, with nearly 36,000 people slain. Suspect in Tijuana Murder in Chula Vista Court for Other Charges Aaron Juarez was arraigned Monday By Danielle Radin • Published March 11, 2019 • Updated on March 12, 2019 … The woman reached for her smartphone to show a series of macabre images depicting conditions inside. All rights reserved. Brianna Rojas seemed her usual breezy self as she set off for work. The victim died after being transported to Hospital General de Tijuana on Sunday evening. SEE ALSO: The Violent Tailspin of Mexico’s Dominant Cartels In the first nine months of this year, Mexico suffered an average of close to 100 murders a day. Rank City Country Homicides (2019) Population (2019) Homicides per 100,000 per year 1 Tijuana Mexico 2,367 1,763,197 134.24 2 Juárez Mexico 1,522 1,455,923 104.54 Forty-eight hours later – as the week reached a bloody peak - emergency workers from Mexico’s Red Cross raced westwards to collect their latest cargo from a tumbledown community called Francisco Villa. The overwhelming majority of homicides in Tijuana are attributed to street-level gangs distributing primarily affordable, high-grade methamphetamine and heroin on behalf of the major cartels. Tijuana alone accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of the nation’s population but has thus far contributed to around 7.5 percent of Mexico’s murders in 2019. In one of the most disturbing episodes 12 corpses were abandoned with their tongues hacked out and placed nearby in a black plastic bag. In fact, last year saw a record high rate of murders in Mexico as a whole, so the Tijuana violence is not an outlier. Many of these pushers are targets of rip-crews looking for cash and drugs. Tijuana Homicides by Month (Official Statistics). The next evening 30-year-old Jesús Bernal staggered into an alley off Calle Belice, blood oozing from at least four separate gunshot wounds in his legs and wrists. Mexico now suffers an average of about 96 murders per day, with nearly 29,000 people killed since Amlo took office. There have been more than 1,025 homicide victims in Tijuana, Baja California so far this year. ... 25 May, 2019 02:36 AM Quick Read. One showed perhaps two dozen naked corpses sprawled on the floor, a putrid tangle of bloodied limbs. “These are killings that matter to no one,” Clark said. In the first 15 days of 2021, 79 murders have already been documented in the city of Tijuana. But those measures have yet to pay off, with the new security force used mostly to hunt Central American migrants. Investigators responded to the area after receiving a 911 call and found a male murder victim of approximately 20-25 years. In a country with nearly 100 murders a day President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has vowed to tackle the social roots of crime but change is slow to come, Mon 4 Nov 2019 04.00 EST The 2,000-death mark was reached after several attempts by the federal government to deploy additional personnel to the beleaguered city. Mon 4 Nov 2019 04.00 EST Last modified on Mon 4 ... Mexico suffered an average of close to 100 murders a day. Last month Mexico’s security chief, Alfonso Durazo, claimed the crisis was reaching “inflection point” – only for his upbeat message to be imploded by a week of mayhem which saw cartel gunmen slay 13 police officers and then paralyze a major city in order to free the son of Mexico’s most famous drug lord, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Calderón hoped to smash the drug cartels with his heavily militarized onslaught but the approach was counter-productive and exacted a catastrophic human toll. 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