TIJUANA
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The bloody turf war involving Tijuana's drug traffickers claimed eight more lives yesterday, including two men who had been decapitated.
Officials say the men were the latest casualties in an ongoing battle among organized criminal gangs. In all, 44 bodies have been found since Sunday in Tijuana, a number that has grown from previous reports as officials provided a thorough accounting.
The bodies of five men were discovered about 3:30 a.m. yesterday in the Buena Vista neighborhood near Calle Juan Ojeda Robles, according to the Baja California Attorney General's Office. Their faces were covered with gray tape, and their hands and feet were bound, said an official from the office. There was no note accompanying the bodies, as there has been in some of the other killings.
About five hours later, the bodies of two men were found in Colonia Guadalupe Victoria on Venustiano Carranza. One man was believed to be 35 to 40 years old; the other 50 to 55. Both had been decapitated, and a message had been left on the bodies on a piece of cardboard.
According to Mexican press reports, the message read, “These are your people, M4. You're next.” There was no explanation of who “M4” was.
About 11 a.m. yesterday, the body of a man 30 to 35 was discovered in El Rubi district inside a black Volkswagen Jetta with California license plates.
Among the week's incidents was the discovery Monday of 12 bodies outside an elementary school. Some of the bodies found during the week showed signs of torture.
Mexican law enforcement officials blame the violence on their efforts to bring down the powerful drug cartels that control the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
The deaths in Tijuana point to a power struggle between cells of the Arellano Félix drug cartel, whose top leaders have been arrested or killed in recent years, officials said.
Other Mexican drug cartels, among them the Sinaloa cartel lead by JoaquNn “Chapo” Guzmán, are believed to covet control of drug smuggling in Tijuana because of its location on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jose Jimenez: (619) 293-1865; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
Greg Gross: (619) 293-1889; greg.gross@uniontrib.com
