The sentencing of a former Tijuana Cartel kingpin to 25 years in a US prison has prompted the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to proclaim that the organization has met its end, but this may be premature.
The San Diego trial of two gang members once linked to the Tijuana Cartel is a reminder that Mexican groups have long used the city as a base. However, this group was arguably in the unusual position of finding it safer to operate on US rather than Mexican soil.
A former leader of the Tijuana Cartel, and one of the most powerful drug barons ever prosecuted in the United States, has plead guilty to racketeering and money laundering charges in a San Diego court.
Since his arrest, Tijuana Cartel lieutenant “El Ruedas” has handed over a treasure trove of information about the group’s operations and relationship with the Sinaloa Cartel.
A high-ranking Tijuana Cartel lieutenant was arrested last week, sparking commentary that the trafficking organization is on the ropes. Not so fast; experts have said this since 2002, but the group has proved resilient.
Mexico’s federal government has published its statistics regarding homicides in 2011, allowing for a glimpse at the changing state of public security within the nation.
A Mexican court has confirmed the release of the former mayor of Tijuana, Jorge Hank Rhon, after rejecting an appeal by prosecutors to overturn his acquittal on weapons charges.
Mexico's current unprecedented level of cooperation in extraditing organized crime suspects to the U.S. is good news in the short term, but could build stronger ties between U.S. prison gangs and Mexican drug cartels.
While the most obvious symptom of Mexico’s current struggle with organized crime is stratospheric rates of violence, the fracturing of powerful trafficking organizations into a constellation of smaller groups could have a more lasting impact on the country.
The arrest of Armando Villareal Heredia, alias “El Gordo,” is a blow to the weakened Tijuana Cartel that could increase the likelihood of conflict with the Sinaloa Cartel in the region.
