Jaden Newman Recruiting, Idaho Ibew Jurisdiction Map, Ware Funeral Home Obituaries, Articles T

In the aftermath, the Guadalajara Cartel split into three different criminal organizations that controlled different territories in Mexico, he said. On December 1, 2011, William R. Sherman, acting special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's office in San Diego, announced that the cartel had been annihilated and that the Sinaloa Cartel now controlled a large number of the drug routes the Tijuana Cartel once had. The first cartel war ever in Mexico!! Benjamin Arellano Felix, who was arrested on March 9, 2002, by the Mexican Army in the state of Puebla,[40] was extradited to the United States on April 29, 2011, to face charges of trafficking cocaine into California. De r dock mest knda fr sin omfattande narkotikasmuggling mellan produktionsorterna i Mellan - och Sydamerika och den lukrativa narkotikamarknaden i norra . Tirado then distracted the two men by calling out Ramon's name, and as Ramon and Alamba turned around, two gunmen approached them from behind and shot them several times with handguns. Lopez Obrador seems to be doubling down on this failed strategy, Brewer said. There cannot be one single dominant criminal actor in a country as politically, economically and criminally diverse as Mexico. And while the CJNG is certainly the largest and the most well-funded group in Tierra Caliente, this has not been enough to overcome entrenched local groups with popular support. Cartel members are accused of bribing corrupt government and military officials in Tijuana to get their product safely to America. The two men met up with their contact, Carlos Tirado Lizarraga, who told them about the situation; they were unaware that Tirado had lured them into a trap at the behest of Guzman, who had ordered the kidnapping of Tirado's sister to force him into betraying his boss. hide caption. [50] In its most successful era of drug distribution, the Arellano-Felix Organization was solely responsible for a significant portion of the cocaine distribution to the United States. The drug cartels had flexed their power in Tijuana in a way not seen for more than a decade and reignited fear and debate over who is it that really wields influence in the country: the government or the gangs. And in Guerrero, the heartland of poppy-growing for heroin production, splinter groups from larger crime organizations have become a nightmare for the CJNG. Residents on both sides of the border were shocked by the brazen attacks, and normalcy didnt return until days later. "Puerto Vallarta is completely theirs," Balderas said. "This aligns really well with data that we have on the perception that criminal groups have the firepower capacity to effectively confront the state. When hes not working - and even sometimes when he should be - Gustavo is surfing on both sides of the border. Enedina bought out her share and had their mini-plaza absorbed into the Federation, which meant Isabelle had to go again. The Arellano-Felix family controlled the city of Tijuana.. hide caption. These attacks have not been successful yet. A man believed to be the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana was arrested in the border city on Tuesday. [45][46], They were a criminal organization that operated from San Diego to Los Angeles and other California and Nevada cities. It was formed in 1989, after the Arellano-Flix brothers, who controlled the Tijuana plaza after overthrowing their former mentor Alberto Sicilia Falcon, withdrew from the Guadalajara Cartel. On November 5, 2007, Francisco was sentenced to life in prison, at ADX Florence, after pleading guilty in September 2007 to running a criminal enterprise and laundering money. Yet Farfn-Mndez questioned whether increased military force was the answer, and she pushed back against the focus on cartels. At the end of season 3, the soldiers leave, and Benjamin comes back. However, the two brothers believed that he was an amateur and was not worthy of working with them, and they declined his offer. And I'm going to protect the good citizens, the law-abiding citizens. He graduated from Columbia Universitys School of Journalism in 2013 and has worked in New York City, Miami, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Since at least 2017, a CJNG splinter group, calling itself the Nueva Plaza Cartel, has engaged in regular battles with the larger cartel. Mexican drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin " El Chapo " Guzman, was arrested, unleashing a violent backlash by gang gunmen on Thursday that shut the airport in . Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article. "Los Cabos" are a regional Tijuana cartel organization that worked under the Cartel de Sinaloa (CDS) , then a majority of them left to join the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin (CJNG) . The suspects arrested Tuesday in Tijuana. This mother says violence has sadly become expected for residents of Tijuana. The sun sets in Tijuana, Baja California, on the border with San Diego. hide caption. September 8, 2021 2794 The internal differences of the Sinaloa Cartel, between El Mayo Zambada and the sons of Chapo Guzmn, exploded in a border town of Baja California and Sonora. The state is important for its ports and access to trans-Atlantic drug routes, as well as being a corridor for human trafficking. The downfall and desizing of one cartel, like the Tijuana Cartel, provides the opportunity for another to retake territory and expand their business. The gang war was marked by several gang shootings, bombings, and atrocities, and it was brough to an end in 2002 when the Tijuana leaders were taken down by both the Sinaloa Cartel and law enforcement. And while the CJNG appears to have made bolder attempts to take over northern cities such as Torren and Monterrey, it has not established itself as the dominant criminal player in northern Mexico. The most notorious example came in April 2019, when 14 people were murdered during a party in the town of Minatitln. Ruiz was wanted in connection with several murders including a double-homicide last July where the victims were . While both resort to violence, the Sinaloa Cartel is viewed as more professional. ", She also downplayed the severity of last week's attack, saying burning a dozen cars in a city of two million people "statistically does not make it an act of terrorism.". Tijuana residents take part in a peaceful rally outside a military base during a visit by Mexico's president. A report by the International Crisis Group found at least 20 distinct criminal groups there, vying for control of synthetic drug production, drug trafficking routes coming in via the Pacific and for theincreasingly lucrative extortion of the avocado industry. Their brother, Francisco, is arrested by Walt Breslin, which, combined with other events, prompts Enedina to launch attacks against all their enemies. In November 2020 it was reported emissaries from the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel had been seen in Tijuana attempting to form an alliance with the now resurgent Tijuana Cartel. And right next to that park there's this crowd of drug dealers. Moses Zazueta Ramirez is back at work after taking two days off out of fear of more cartel violence. Benjamn Arellano Flix Francisco Rafael Arellano Flix Ramn . [44] He pleaded guilty to money laundering and is serving 15 years. The Tijuana cartel was further weakened in August 2006 when its chief, Javier Arellano Flix, was arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard on a boat off the coast of Baja California. It's easy for politicians to say the violence is just gangs fighting each other, she said, when there were other indicators of problems like homicides being more common in poorer neighborhoods, and rates remaining stubbornly high for women. KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis talked to experts about the reasons behind the attacks. This means that crucial information needed to dominate a region -- such as knowledge of escape routes, safe houses and warnings of operations by authorities -- are not being shared with the CJNG. After Ramn Arellano Flix (Manuel Masalva) and his friends kill Sinaloa-affiliate El Rayo, the tension and violence rapidly escalate. Unfortunately, what we have seen over the past 10 to 15 years is a lot of repetition of the same go-to strategies, which consists largely of military deployment, said Stephanie Brewer, Director for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, or WOLA. At least 11 killed, businesses burned near Mexico's border with U.S. in violence blamed partly on El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel. Tijuana streets flow with the blood of rival drug cartels A vicious turf war has claimed 2,700 lives in Mexico this year. hide caption. Thats their standard modus operandi: resorting to very dramatic, very brazen violence.. Tijuana, city, northwestern Baja California estado (state), northwestern Mexico. But everyone else is saying: 'How can you say that, have you not seen what is happening?. Ramn was eventually killed in a gun battle with police at Mazatln in Sinaloa, on February 10, 2002. But along the border with the United States, the group has been involved in a series of violent clashes for control of border crossings. [28] Fernando Sanchez Arellano was arrested by Mexican police in June 2014. Between the choice of the violence of the Sinaloa Cartel and the violence of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, life tends to be much more brutal, much more difficult under Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacions rule, Felbab-Brown said. But, for those who study the cartels, the actions were part of an all-too-familiar pattern. [11] Mexican army troops were sent to Tijuana in January 2007 in an operation to restore order to the border city and root out corrupt police officers, who mostly were cooperating with the Tijuana cartel. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR Another thing that happened in the aftermath of these events is that the government is saying that their strategy is working, she said. Areas predominantly controlled by the Tijuana Cartel shown in purple, List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords, "El crtel de los Arellano Flix contina: PGJE", "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border", "Violence the result of fractured arrangement between Zetas and Gulf Cartel, authorities say", "Femme Fatale Kidnapper Of CAF Members Has Appeal Denied In US Court", "Los Cabos Leave Ice Chests With Remains and Threats for CAF in Snchez Taboada, Tijuana", "Mexican drug runners may have used C-130 from Arizona", "Expert Says Weakened Sinaloa Cartel Under Attack by Rivals", "Mexico: The Price of Peace in the Cartel Wars", "Tijuana's New Calm Shows Benefits of Local Policing in Mexico", "Leyzaola pact con los rivales de El Teo", "Tijuana Cartel Survives, Despite Decade-Long Onslaught", "Why the Jalisco Cartel Does Not Dominate Mexico's Criminal Landscape", "History of DEA Operations DEA History", "Asesinan a Francisco Rafael Arellano Flix en Los Cabos", "The Business Arellano-Felix Cartel Drug Wars FRONTLINE PBS", "Mexican Drug Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence", "U.S. charges top leaders of Tijuana-based drug cartel", "DTO 101: The Arellano Felix Organization", Mexican drug cartel boss Luis Fernando Sanchez Arellano nabbed, "Mexico captures US-born Tijuana drug lieutenant (July 11, 2011)", "Mexican troops arrest Tijuana drug cartel boss", "Tijuana's Uneasy Peace May Endure Despite Arrests", "Arellano Flix cartel operator "El Chapito Leal" arrested in Tijuana", "Tension high in Tijuana following the arrest of "El Chapito" Leal - the San Diego Union-Tribune", "Mexico's Drug Cartels (CRs Report for Congress)", "Latest drug tunnel, pot seizures may reflect rise of Sinaloa cartel", "Captured Tijuana Cartel Boss Confirms Sinaloa Truce", "DEA CONFIRMS CAPTURE OF BENJAMIN ARELLANO-FELIX", "Mexico home to record 1,400 drug-related deaths in April", "Mexico cartel boss Arellano Felix jailed for 25 years", "Eduardo Arellano-Felix Extradited from Mexico to the United States to Face Charges", "Mexican officials warn Americans to stay away", "Sources: U.S. informant oversaw killings", "Juarez murders shine light on an emerging "Cartel in California", "Sources: La Historia de Los Arellano Felix", "Last of Tijuana cartel's Arellano Felix brothers jailed", "Business - The Arellano-Felix Organization | Drug Wars | FRONTLINE | PBS", "Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations", "Tijuana new Generation of Cartel "New Tijuana Cartel", Fatal Shooting in Logan Heights May Have Been Gang-Related - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tijuana_Cartel&oldid=1131119244, Luis Fernando Arellano Flix (believed to be born 26 January 1966) not currently wanted, This page was last edited on 2 January 2023, at 17:10. Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) - Split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010, it is "one of the most powerful and fastest growing in Mexico and the United States," according to the DEA. His downfall ended the war between the two cartels. A 2021 study by the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies found that 64% of Mexicans think organized crime or drug trafficking groups buy public officials. [13] The U.S. authorities speculated WikiLeaks in 2009 that Tijuana's former police boss, Julin Leyzaola, had made agreements with Snchez Arellano to bring relative peace in Tijuana. Thats exactly the kind of public show of force that Tijuana experienced August 12. If you are wondering about who controls the Sinaloa and Tijuana Cartels at the end of Narcos: Mexico season 3, we got you covered. The downfall of the Arellano Felix brothers allowed for Guzman to create his drug cartel federation with the support of the Mexican government and the DEA, but Osiel Cardenas Guillen and his Gulf Cartel did not attend the meeting. Large segments of Mexico's people, territory, and economy are falling under the rule of Mexican criminal groups even in areas where violence has not flared up or has declined, with the declines . The group has expanded rapidly across Mexico and is now one of the country's most. They set up their command center outside Tijuana. Sinaloa cartel, international crime organization that is among the most-powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world. According to their guilty pleas, they also. It is not because the state has developed effective policies.. And in season 3, it finally spills over. Felbab-Brown has studied the difference between how each cartel operates. The rise of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin CJNG), after its split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010, was rapid. At least one of them was a minor, reports infobae. On 24 May 1993, Logan Heights Gang hitmen hired by the Tijuana Cartel attempted to kill Guzman in a double-assassination at the Guadalajara International Airport; they succeeded in killing the other target, Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo. [52] The Congressional Research Service identified the Tijuana Cartel as one of the four dominant drug trafficking organizations in 2020. Mexican authorities claim El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel was behind the killings after video footage showed them interrogating rival members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNGC) days earlier. But while it is certainly one of the country's principal national security threats, the reality on the ground is far more complex as the group is embroiled in a patchwork of rivalries nationwide. This is a war the CJNG looks to have won. Ismael Zambada Garca or El Mayo (Alberto Guerra), a previously independent but respected trafficker, join forces with Chapo after Tijuana burns his boat. It originated as a ranch settlement on part of a land grant (1862) and developed as a border resort with gambling casinos. If one group or the other sees a weakness it will attack," he said, noting that. [14], The Mexican federal government responded by implementing "Operation Tijuana", a coordination carried out between the Mexican military and the municipal police forces in the area. The power of the CJNG in Jalisco also extends to certain municipalities in neighboring states likeZacatecasandAguascalientes, as well as the coasts ofNayarit, ColimaandMichoacn. Despite attempted shows of strength on the fringes of the Golden Triangle, this remains the part of Mexico where the CJNG lacks any real influence. It is based in Culiacn, Sinaloa state, Mexico. Just over a week ago, a drug cartel launched a campaign of terror on Tijuana vehicles were set ablaze and gunmen blocked major thoroughfares. The Luis Fernando Snchez Arellano new generation organization of the cartel is believed to be one of the newest leaders in it to begin shipping cocaine from Colombia, particularly from Los Rastrojos and other Colombian dealers. The Sinaloa-Tijuana war was a bloody gang war fought between the rival Sinaloa and Tijuana Mexican drug cartels in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca from 1989 to 1993 and from 2001 to 2002. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR [29] Leyva remains at large and Villareal was captured in July 2011. The Sinaloa Cartel, which is based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, is one of the oldest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was designated on December 15, 2021 pursuant to E.O. Another key crossing is Ciudad Jurez in Chihuahua, infamous for once being the most violent city in the world. In the city of Tijuana, in the Pacific state of Baja California, the CJNG and Sinaloa Cartel are the main providers of synthetic drugs, especially fentanyl. Could more local solutions work. [19], The Arellano Flix family was initially composed of seven brothers and four sisters, who inherited the organization from Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo upon his incarceration in Mexico in 1989 for his complicity in the murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena. Aun as, los sinaloenses parecen gustar de las disputas, en los aos siguientes el Crtel del golfo, Los Zetas y el Crtel de Tijuana se convertiran en sus enemigos. ", "I think there's a concern that rather than developing civilian institutions that are devoted to law enforcement, we're seeing increasingly the armed forces getting more duties.". The US Treasury Department has included on its blacklists various businesses connected to the cartel in the city. Crtel de Sinaloa r ett mexikanskt globalt brottssyndikat som utfr olika sorters brott som bland annat kidnappningar, korruption, mord, penningtvtt, mnnisko- och vapenhandel. Tijuana Cartel - za siedzib tej organizacji uznaje si miasto na granicy ze Stanami Zjednoczonymi, Tijuan, znajdujc si w pnocno-wschodnim stanie Baja California. Take precautions if you want to come to Tijuana, but know the city remained safe because we contained the situation," she said. This has brought the group into regular conflict with the CJNG since 2017 but with no side gaining a distinct advantage. With such sophisticated precautionary measures, the Arellano-Felix brothers proved difficult to counter. The unfortunate shooting was part of the battle between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel. With the imminent release of El Ingeniero and the current consolidations with in Baja California as well as an alliance with Rafa Caro Quintero and the Sonora plaza its speculated the Tijuana Cartel may again rise and surpass both the Gulf and Juarez Cartel's who along with the Sinaloa Cartel are suffering greatly from internal strife. Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR At least 11 people, including a child and a radio presenter, were killed in a wave of violence reported at least four Mexican cities on the US border. Control was difficult as the Arellano-Felix Organization focused on strategic coordination, protection, and security. According to Balderas, the CJNG is present in the capital, especially in certain poorer neighborhoods to the north of the city, but it has not succeeded in becoming a main criminal actor as of yet. Shiny SUVs rest curbside. A member of the National Guard stands watch over the Gran Tenochtitlan neighborhood of Tijuana. hide caption. Synthetics had reshaped the geography of drug demand. Updated on: August 13, 2022 / 7:59 AM / AFP Mexico's Atlantic Coast was traditionally contested between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. By Ioan Grillo October 18, 2019 7:39 PM EDT. TIJUANA, Mexico Moses Zazueta Ramirez was at home last Friday when he started getting messages from his mom and seeing the chaos unfold on social media. However, the government has. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. To comprehend whats happening now, you need to understand the history of the Mexican cartels, said David Shirk, director of the Justice in Mexico program at the University of San Diego. He was born in Mexico City, grew up in San Diego and has two passports to prove it. Tijuana hasn't seen this type of violence in its streets since the mid-2000s, when the federal government took a hardline approach on the cartels. At the beginning of season 3, Sinaloa is inarguably the worst-performing organization among all four major cartels active in Mexico. [42] Once that is served, he will be sent back to Mexico to finish another 22 years for a conviction there.[43]. "The situation is serious, but it is not dire. Wage theft is commonplace in San Diego. In Baja. We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. SINALOA CARTEL Founder: 1989 Originally part of: Guadalajara Cartel Allies: Gulf Cartel, Knights Templar Action by the Mexican Authority alone could not maintain the needed control. "Let me put it as an example where I live," said Ramirez, the restaurant worker. State officials say 17 people were detained and suspects include members of the Jalisco cartel. Headlines and US indictments have confidently proclaimed the Jalisco Cartel to be Mexico's dominant criminal group. In the 1990s, the Tijuana Cartel decided to expand their market opportunities in Colombia, exchanging drugs for weapons. The city of Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific Coast, has also been used by the CJNG for money laundering, human trafficking and drug trafficking. As como tenan una guerra abierta contra los muchachos de Sinaloa, lograron un acuerdo de cooperacin con el cartel del Golfo. Cartel henchmen set up roadblocks throughout Baja California and the government imposed a curfew. The drug trafficker, in his flight from Tijuana, was protected in Sinaloa by Damaso Lopez, alias "El Licenciado," one of the Sinaloa Cartel leaders closest to El Chapo. The Jalisco cartel is also powerful, but more violent. The discovery of two severed heads in Mexico City has raised concerns that the capital may no longer be immune, Forensic examiners recovering bodies from mass graves in remote terrain has become commonplace during Mexicos drug war, but criminal groups, Poverty and lack of opportunity are supplying Mexico's drug trafficking organizations with waves of fresh recruits. After the death in 1997 of the Jurez Cartel's Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the Tijuana Cartel attempted to gain a foothold in Sonora. [31] Observers argued that Rocha's arrest put the Tijuana Cartel "on the ropes",[32] though some differed on whether or not the arrest put "the final nail in the coffin" for the Tijuana Cartel. The war between the Sinaloa and Tijuana cartels may have set the stage for later wars between the Beltrn Leyva and Zetas crime syndicates, but it was the first great narco conflict. Los Palillos ("The Toothpicks") was a group operating within Tijuana Cartel, who worked as the armed wing of the Tijuana Cartel in the United States, for the control of the criminal activities in California and Nevada. VICE 16.6M subscribers Subscribe 1.8M views 4 months ago #elchapo #sinaloa The Sinaloa Cartel are probably the richest and most powerful criminal organization on Earth. El enfrentamiento. The Arellano Flix family has seven brothers: They also have four sisters, of whom Alicia and Enedina are most active in the cartel's affairs. The war that broke out between the Sinaloa and Tijuana cartels, and El Chapo . Tras conocerse la noticia de su inminente salida de prisin el pasado 18 de agosto, fue mucha la incertidumbre sobre cul sera el futuro del exlder del cartel de Tijuana. It is one of at least 40 groups vying for criminal economies there. "I think we should really abandon these narco narratives that, even though they can be very sexy and very appealing, do very little in serving us to understand why is it that a place like Tijuana has not been able to reduce levels of violence," she said. Gang members were targeting . When the second season of Narcos: Mexico ends, Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo (Diego Luna) is in jail and his Guadalajara Cartel has splintered into three independent cartels: the Tijuana Cartel under the leadership of the Arellano family; the Sinaloa Cartel controlled by Chapo (Alejandro Edda), Palma (Gorka Lasaosa), and Azul (Fermn Martnez); and the Jurez Cartel with Amado Carrillo Fuentes (Jos Mara Yazpik) and Rafael Aguilar Guajardo (No Hernndez) as leaders. The shootout occurred in the context of a violent drug war between the Tijuana and Sinaloa cartels, with Guzman seeking revenge for the murder of the wife and two young daughters of his right-hand man Hector Luis Palma Salazar at the hands of Tijuana hitmen. Its origins can be traced to the Guadalajara cartel, which was one of Mexico's largest crime organizations in the early 1980s. Why the Jalisco Cartel Does Not Dominate Mexico's Criminal Landscape, Mexico's Role in the Deadly Rise of Fentanyl, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aliasEl Mencho,, Morelos, Mexicos Latest Hotspot for Fragmented Criminal Showdowns, The Slow Death of Mexico's Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, Wildlife Protection Treaty Hits 50 Amid Challenges, Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted, Brutal but Futile: Venezuela's Anti-Gang 'Mega-Operations', MS13s Mexico Program Key to El Salvador Gang Negotiations, Peace Leaders in Putumayo, Colombia Bet Their Lives on Coca Crop Substitution, Pablo Escobar and the Real Criminal Story of the Cocaine Bear, Severed Heads in Mexico City do not Signal Capital's Decline, Walled Inside Homes, Corpses of Mexico's Disappeared Evade Authorities, Poverty a Recruitment Tool for Mexico's Criminal Gangs. What Happens to Jurez and Gulf Cartels at the End of Narcos: Mexico Season 3. The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. The cartel was involved in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana in the Baja California area. A drug cartel had hijacked and burned more than a dozen vehicles across his home city of Tijuana, and rumors spread that they had announced a curfew. TIJUANA, Mexico Moses Zazueta Ramirez was at home last Friday when he started getting messages from his mom and seeing the chaos unfold on social media. They try to rule through brutality, by being more brutal than anyone else, she said. Incluso, en 1993 hubo un intento de asesinar al lder del Cartel de Sinaloa. Read More:What Happens to Jurez and Gulf Cartels at the End of Narcos: Mexico Season 3? "My coworkers told me that, hey, you got to come and I said, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to risk myself to just get some money," he said. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. Some of them. Al Crtel de Sinaloa le vendran los mejores aos en su actividad delictiva, mientras el Crtel de Tijuana iba en picada. This group reportedly arosein 2017 when several gangs dedicated to oil theft banded together to stop the CJNG's incursions into Guanajuato, Quertaro and Hidalgo. [37] After Benjamin Arellano-Felix pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to launder money on January 4, 2012, it was accepted that the Tijuana Cartel had greatly lost influence. [9] However, since the 2006 Sinaloa Cartel incursion in Baja California and the fall of the Arellano-Flix brothers, the Tijuana Cartel has been reduced to a few cells. Checkpoints have been set up in some areas and troops can be seen stopping and inspecting cars close to where one of the vehicles was set on fire last Friday.