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TJ officials say killing spree linked to arrest of Arellano-Felix

By Amy Isackson / Border Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published September 21, 2006 at 7:44 AM PDT
This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Law enforcement officials and crime watchers in Tijuana say the arrest of suspected drug cartel leader Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix has caused an unprecedented spate of violence in Tijuana. KPBS Re

TJ officials say killing spree linked to arrest of Arellano-Felix

Law enforcement officials and crime watchers in Tijuana say the arrest of suspected drug cartel leader Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix has caused an unprecedented spate of violence in Tijuana. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has details.

The killing spree has claimed more than 15 lives in Tijuana during the last week. Tuesday, police discovered six bodies dumped around the city. Last week, armed men burst into a busy taco shop and murdered three people, including one police officer and a U.S. citizen.

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The brutal incidents have not been officially linked to the arrest of Javier Arellano Felix who's awaiting trial in San Diego.

However, Victor Clark who studies crime in Tijuana attributes the violence to the battle to control drug trafficking in the area.

Clark says the Arellano cartel may be cleaning house - killing off snitches, and settling old scores. And he says they may be fighting off interlopers. Clark says the cartels from outside the area may also be contributing to the bloodshed. Amy Isackson, KPBS News.

Amy Isackson
Amy Isackson was the border reporter at KPBS from 2004 to 2011. She covered breaking news and feature stories on California-Mexico border issues and immigration, for local and national broadcast. Amy got her start in public radio by pitching a series of stories about rural New Zealand - horse dentistry and sheep sheering - to Radio New Zealand's "Country Life" program. She then worked with Peabody Award-winning radio producers Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, to help create the Sonic Memorial, a series of stories on the World Trade Center before, during and after 9/11. Amy's work has been recognized with awards from the Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada, the California Chicano News Media Association, and the San Diego Press Club. She won the Sol Price Prize for Responsible Journalism in 2009 from the Society of Professional Journalists for her story about high school students smuggling people and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to venturing into the wonderful world of public radio, Amy worked for Yahoo! Inc. for nearly five years as an editorial surfer, associate producer and broadcast communications manager. She majored in Latin American History at Williams College. She grew up in San Diego and made frequent trips south of the border.
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