Tijuana Cartel
Encyclopedia
The Tijuana Cartel is a Mexican
drug cartel
based in Tijuana
. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico". The Tijuana Cartel was featured battling the rival Juárez Cartel
in the 2000 motion picture
Traffic.
, the founder of the Guadalajara Cartel
was arrested in 1989. While incarcerated, he remained one of Mexico's major traffickers, maintaining his organization via mobile phone
until he was transferred to a new maximum security prison in the 1990s. At that point, his old organization broke up into two factions: the Tijuana Cartel led by his nephews, the Arellano Félix brothers, and the Sinaloa Cartel
, run by former lieutenants Héctor Luis Palma Salazar
and Joaquín Guzmán Loera El Chapo.
Currently, the majority of Mexico's smuggling routes are controlled by three key cartels: Gulf
, Sinaloa
and Tijuana —though Tijuana is the least powerful. The Tijuana cartel was further weakened in August 2006 when its chief, Javier Arellano Félix, was arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard on a boat off the coast of Baja California
. Mexican army troops also 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. As a result of these efforts, the Tijuana cartel is unable to project much power outside of its base in Tijuana.
upon his incarceration in Mexico in 1989 for his complicity in the murder of DEA
Special Agent Enrique Camarena
. Although the subsequent brothers' arrest in the 1990s and 2000s are blows to the Arellano Felix cartel, it did not dismantle the organization which currently is led by the Arellano's nephew, Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano
.
The Tijuana Cartel has infiltrated the Mexican law enforcement and judicial systems and is directly involved in street-level trafficking within the United States. This criminal organization is responsible for the transportation, importation, and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine
and marijuana, as well as large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine
.
The organization has a reputation for extreme violence. Ramón Arellano Félix ordered a hit which resulted in the mass murder of 18 people in Ensenada, Baja California
, on September 17, 1998. Ramón was eventually killed in a gun battle with police at Mazatlán
Sinaloa, on February 10, 2002.
The Arellano Félix family has seven brothers:
They also have four sisters, where Alicia and Enedina
are most active in the cartel's affairs. The family inherited the organization from Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
upon his incarceration. Eduardo Arellano Félix was captured by the Mexican Army
after a shootout in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 26, 2008; he had been the last of the Arellano Félix brothers at large. According to a Mexican official, Enedina's son, Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano
, has taken over the cartel's operations. His two top lieutenants were Armando Villareal Heredia
and Edgardo Leyva Escandon
. Escandon remains at large and Heredia was captured in July 2011. On November 5, 2011, Mexican troops arrested cartel liueutenant Francisco Sillas Rocha, who was reported to the cartel's number two leader, and some of his close associates.
, Mexicali
, Tecate
, and Ensenada
in Baja California
, in parts of Sinaloa
and Zacatecas
. After the death in 1997 of the Juárez Cartel's Amado Carrillo Fuentes
, the Tijuana Cartel attempted to gain a foothold in Sonora. The Oaxaca Cartel
reportedly joined forces with the Tijuana Cartel in 2003.
Fourteen Mexican drug gang members were killed and eight others were injured in a gun battle in Tijuana near the U.S. border on Saturday, April 26, 2008 that was one of the bloodiest shootouts in the narco-war between the Tijuana Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel
.
that was sold to the airline Aeropostal Cargo de México
was seized by Mexican federal officials, who alleged that the aircraft had been used to haul drugs for the cartel up from Central and South America, as well as around the Mexican interior. Investigators had linked the airline's owner, Jesús Villegas Covallos, to Ramón Arellano Félix.
On August 14, 2006, Francisco Javier Arellano Félix
was apprehended by the United States Coast Guard
off the coast of Baja California Sur
.
, who worked as the armed wing of the Tijuana Cartel
in the United States
, for the control of the criminal activities in the United States specially California
and Nevada
.
They were a criminal organization that operates from San Diego to Los Angeles
and other California
and Nevada
cities. To avoid constant confrontations with the police and police interest reducing his wealth Ramon Arellano Felix
began bribing almost any official possible. Ramon received money from members of the criminal group and local criminals to "kick up" money from their illegal activities such as kidnapping
and contract killing
take the half of the money and give it to the Tijuana Cartel
to launderning it. That was way the Arellano Felix brothers operation include other clans in Tijuana
and Los Angeles
.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
drug cartel
Drug cartel
Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking...
based in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico". The Tijuana Cartel was featured battling the rival Juárez Cartel
Juárez Cartel
The Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
in the 2000 motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Traffic.
History
Miguel Ángel Félix GallardoMiguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo is a convicted Mexican drug lord known as "El Padrino" who in the 1980s formed the Guadalajara Cartel and became the first drug czar in Mexico to control all illegal drug traffic in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico-U.S.A...
, the founder of the Guadalajara Cartel
Guadalajara Cartel
The Guadalajara Cartel was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the 1980s by Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in order to ship heroin and marijuana to the United States...
was arrested in 1989. While incarcerated, he remained one of Mexico's major traffickers, maintaining his organization via mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
until he was transferred to a new maximum security prison in the 1990s. At that point, his old organization broke up into two factions: the Tijuana Cartel led by his nephews, the Arellano Félix brothers, and the Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
, run by former lieutenants Héctor Luis Palma Salazar
Héctor Luis Palma Salazar
Héctor Luis Palma Salazar was a Mexican drug trafficker and former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán .- Biography :...
and Joaquín Guzmán Loera El Chapo.
Currently, the majority of Mexico's smuggling routes are controlled by three key cartels: Gulf
Gulf Cartel
The Gulf Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico, and perhaps the oldest organized crime group in the country...
, Sinaloa
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
and Tijuana —though Tijuana is the least powerful. The Tijuana cartel was further weakened in August 2006 when its chief, Javier Arellano Félix, was arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard on a boat off the coast of Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. Mexican army troops also 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. As a result of these efforts, the Tijuana cartel is unable to project much power outside of its base in Tijuana.
Organization
The Arellano Félix family was initially composed of seven brothers and four sisters, who inherited the organization from Miguel Ángel Félix GallardoMiguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo is a convicted Mexican drug lord known as "El Padrino" who in the 1980s formed the Guadalajara Cartel and became the first drug czar in Mexico to control all illegal drug traffic in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico-U.S.A...
upon his incarceration in Mexico in 1989 for his complicity in the murder of DEA
DEA
DEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
Special Agent Enrique Camarena
Enrique Camarena
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico July 26, 1947 - c. (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, February 9, 1985) was an undercover agent for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration who was abducted on...
. Although the subsequent brothers' arrest in the 1990s and 2000s are blows to the Arellano Felix cartel, it did not dismantle the organization which currently is led by the Arellano's nephew, Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano
Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano
Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano , a.k.a.: El Ingeniero, is a Mexican drug trafficker leader of the Tijuana Cartel, a Mexican drug trafficking cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California...
.
The Tijuana Cartel has infiltrated the Mexican law enforcement and judicial systems and is directly involved in street-level trafficking within the United States. This criminal organization is responsible for the transportation, importation, and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and marijuana, as well as large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
.
The organization has a reputation for extreme violence. Ramón Arellano Félix ordered a hit which resulted in the mass murder of 18 people in Ensenada, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, on September 17, 1998. Ramón was eventually killed in a gun battle with police at Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
Sinaloa, on February 10, 2002.
The Arellano Félix family has seven brothers:
- Francisco Rafael Arellano FélixFrancisco Rafael Arellano FélixFrancisco Rafael Arellano Félix is a Mexican drug lord involved in the Tijuana Cartel. The oldest of a gang of seven brothers who allegedly ran the Tijuana-based drug cartel, he coordinated the buying, selling, and movements of narcotics on behalf of the organization.He was arrested on August 7,...
(born 24 October 1949) - Captured and released - Benjamín Arellano FélixBenjamín Arellano FélixBenjamín Arellano Félix is a Mexican drug trafficker and former leader of the Mexican criminal organization known as the Tijuana drug Cartel or 'Arellano-Félix Organization'.- Biography :...
(born 3 December 1952) - Captured - Carlos Arellano FélixCarlos Arellano FélixCarlos Alberto Arellano Félix is a Mexican surgeon by training and one of the Arellano-Félix brothers, who lead the criminal organization known as the Tijuana Cartel....
(born 20 August 1955) - is not currently wanted. - Eduardo Arellano FélixEduardo Arellano FélixEduardo Arellano Félix is a Mexican drug trafficker, brother of Benjamín, Ramón, Javier and sister Enedina, all drug traffickers. The Arellano-Félix Organisation, also known as the Tijuana Cartel, has been responsible for countless murders and the smuggling of thousands of tons of marijuana,...
(born 11 October 1956), - Captured on October 26, 2008. - Ramón Eduardo Arellano Félix (born 31 August 1964) - Deceased, shot by police in 2002
- Luis Fernando Arellano Félix (believed to be born 26 January 1966) is not currently wanted.
- Francisco Javier Arellano FélixFrancisco Javier Arellano FélixFrancisco Javier Arellano Félix , the brother of Ramón Arellano Félix, is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Tijuana Cartel involved in drug-smuggling operations from Mexico to the United States....
(born 11 December 1969) - Captured
They also have four sisters, where Alicia and Enedina
Enedina Arellano Félix
Enedina Arellano Félix is a Mexican businesswoman who is alleged to be one of the leaders of the Tijuana drug cartel . She is the sister of former cartel leaders Ramón Arellano Félix and Eduardo Arellano Félix .-See also:*Mexican Drug War*Illegal drug trade...
are most active in the cartel's affairs. The family inherited the organization from Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo is a convicted Mexican drug lord known as "El Padrino" who in the 1980s formed the Guadalajara Cartel and became the first drug czar in Mexico to control all illegal drug traffic in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico-U.S.A...
upon his incarceration. Eduardo Arellano Félix was captured by the Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...
after a shootout in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 26, 2008; he had been the last of the Arellano Félix brothers at large. According to a Mexican official, Enedina's son, Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano
Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano
Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano , a.k.a.: El Ingeniero, is a Mexican drug trafficker leader of the Tijuana Cartel, a Mexican drug trafficking cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California...
, has taken over the cartel's operations. His two top lieutenants were Armando Villareal Heredia
and Edgardo Leyva Escandon
Edgardo Leyva Escandon
Edgardo Leyva Escandón is a Mexican national and career criminal. He has been a high-ranking member of the Tijuana Cartel since approximately 1994...
. Escandon remains at large and Heredia was captured in July 2011. On November 5, 2011, Mexican troops arrested cartel liueutenant Francisco Sillas Rocha, who was reported to the cartel's number two leader, and some of his close associates.
Activities
The Tijuana cartel is present in at least 15 Mexican states with important areas of operation in TijuanaTijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Mexicali
Mexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
, Tecate
Tecate
Tecate is a small city in Baja California, Mexico and the municipal seat of Tecate Municipality. It is located on the border with Tecate, California, United States in the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. There is a small port of entry betwixt the sister cities that serves as a calmer...
, and Ensenada
Ensenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
in Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, in parts of Sinaloa
Sinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
and Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
. After the death in 1997 of the Juárez Cartel's Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Amado Carrillo Fuentes , was a Mexican drug lord who seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "El Señor de Los Cielos" because of the large fleet of jets he used to transport drugs...
, the Tijuana Cartel attempted to gain a foothold in Sonora. The Oaxaca Cartel
Oaxaca Cartel
The Oaxaca cartel is one of the smaller drug cartels currently operating in Mexico and at the service of the Tijuana Cartel; it focuses on marijuana and cocaine trafficking and operates in southern Mexico, particularly in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas....
reportedly joined forces with the Tijuana Cartel in 2003.
Fourteen Mexican drug gang members were killed and eight others were injured in a gun battle in Tijuana near the U.S. border on Saturday, April 26, 2008 that was one of the bloodiest shootouts in the narco-war between the Tijuana Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
.
Captures and trial
In October 1997, a retired U.S. Air Force C-130AC-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
that was sold to the airline Aeropostal Cargo de México
Aeropostal Cargo de Mexico
Aeropostal Cargo de Mexico was a cargo airline based in Mexico City, Mexico, operating on-demand flights within the Americas using leased aircraft.- History :The airline was founded by Cap...
was seized by Mexican federal officials, who alleged that the aircraft had been used to haul drugs for the cartel up from Central and South America, as well as around the Mexican interior. Investigators had linked the airline's owner, Jesús Villegas Covallos, to Ramón Arellano Félix.
On August 14, 2006, Francisco Javier Arellano Félix
Francisco Javier Arellano Félix
Francisco Javier Arellano Félix , the brother of Ramón Arellano Félix, is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Tijuana Cartel involved in drug-smuggling operations from Mexico to the United States....
was apprehended by the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
off the coast of Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur , is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises...
.
Los Palillos
Los Palillos ("The Toothpicks") was a group operating within Tijuana CartelTijuana Cartel
The Tijuana Cartel is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico"...
, who worked as the armed wing of the Tijuana Cartel
Tijuana Cartel
The Tijuana Cartel is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico"...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for the control of the criminal activities in the United States specially California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
They were a criminal organization that operates from San Diego to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and other California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
cities. To avoid constant confrontations with the police and police interest reducing his wealth Ramon Arellano Felix
Ramón Arellano Félix
Ramon Arellano Félix was a Mexican drug trafficker whom authorities linked to the Tijuana drug cartel ....
began bribing almost any official possible. Ramon received money from members of the criminal group and local criminals to "kick up" money from their illegal activities such as kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and contract killing
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
take the half of the money and give it to the Tijuana Cartel
Tijuana Cartel
The Tijuana Cartel is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico"...
to launderning it. That was way the Arellano Felix brothers operation include other clans in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
See also
- Mérida InitiativeMérida InitiativeThe Mérida Initiative is a security cooperation agreement between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the declared aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering...
- Mexican Drug WarMexican Drug WarThe Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
- Narcotrafficking in Colombia
- War on DrugsWar on DrugsThe War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...