TIJUANA
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Eight bodies were found early yesterday in a residential area near the center of the city and a ninth was discovered several miles away, the latest deadly toll of what law enforcement authorities are saying is a fight between criminal groups operating in the region.
At least 27 bodies have been found since Monday in various locations in Tijuana.
The eight victims found together yesterday, all men, had been shot, according to a statement from the Baja California Attorney General's Office.
One was handcuffed, while the other seven had their hands behind their necks; all were found lying face down, according to the statement. Two of the victims carried what appeared to be U.S. deportation papers.
As in several other cases, the killers left a cryptic message. It read: “Here are your people, albañil.” Albañil, which means mason, could be the nickname of a criminal crew leader.
Violent week
by the numbers
9: Bodies found yesterday in Tijuana. One was wrapped in a blanket and found near the central bus station. The other eight were found together in an empty lot near the center of the city and had bullet wounds to the head.
2: Men found dead Tuesday near a water-utility tank. Authorities also began investigating whether three barrels found outside a seafood restaurant contain acid and human remains.
16: Bodies found in two locations Monday, including 12 near an elementary school. Several had their tongues cut out.
SOURCE: Baja California Attorney General's Office
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The bodies were found about 3:50 a.m. in an empty lot in a residential area of Tijuana known as Barcelona Residencial, not far from an industrial park known as Parque Industrial Pacifico.
The ninth victim is an unidentified man. His body was wrapped in a blanket and found off of Bulevar Insurgentes in a neighborhood near the city's central bus station.
The Baja California Attorney General's Office also reported two abductions overnight in different parts of the city.
One of the abducted was Gregorio Barreto, a former city politician and the owner of a large bus company with many routes in the eastern part of Tijuana. An assailant approached him at 4:15 a.m. as he left a Caliente sports book betting outlet in eastern Tijuana. Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, Baja California's attorney general, said yesterday afternoon that there had not yet been a ransom demand.
Yesterday's incidents were the latest in a series that have left residents shaken. Most of the victims have criminal ties. On Monday, 12 bodies were found outside an elementary school, and an additional four victims were discovered in another section of the city.
Law enforcement officials say the violence is a result of their efforts to break up the powerful drug cartels that control the flow of illegal drugs to the United States.
They say the deaths in Tijuana point to a power struggle among cells of the Arellano Félix drug cartel, whose top leaders have been arrested or killed in recent years.
Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716; sandra.dibble@uniontrib.com
