Tijuana was left relatively unscathed after a night of cartel-fueled violence throughout Mexico Sunday.
Chaos erupted after the Mexican military, supported by U.S. intelligence, killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels , near the city of Guadalajara.
Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel responded to the slaying of their leader, who was known as “El Mencho,” by setting businesses and vehicles ablaze throughout Guadalajara. The cartel also shut down the city’s international airport by forcing passengers of an airliner to disembark before setting the plane on fire.
Similar violence erupted in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Quintana Roo, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoaca, Oaxaca and Baja California.
Officials said Sunday’s violence resulted in 62 deaths throughout Mexico, but none in Tijuana or elsewhere in Baja California.
Officials reported 22 “incidents” throughout the state, including 10 in Tijuana. Videos of a burnt pickup truck blocking the road between downtown and Playa de Tijuana circulated on social media Sunday afternoon.
Public transportation was temporarily suspended and the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana warned U.S. citizens to shelter in place, avoid unnecessary travel and stay away from large crowds.
The consulate also suspended all visa and U.S. citizenship services Monday.
A few businesses were closed and all Tijuana schools implemented remote learning protocols, but otherwise the city was largely back to normal.
“The most important thing is this: there were no injuries [in Baja California],” said Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila during an emergency broadcast Sunday night.
Avila told people to stay calm and avoid sharing unverified information because it could spread more fear and confusion.
Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz said the city was “under control” during a Monday morning broadcast. Adding that the last reported incident was at 10 p.m. Sunday.
Other than the few businesses that chose to remain closed, Burgueño said all municipal activities resumed Monday.
“Today the city awakens very calmly,” he said.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel unleashed a similar wave of violence in 2022 – when the Mexican military arrested several high-level members. In Tijuana, cartel members burned 24 vehicles and blocked several roads during the mayhem.
Cecilia Farfan leads the North American Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. She said she remains “cautiously optimistic that this calm will remain.”
Farfan went on to say the cartels typically respond like this whenever their high-level leaders are detained or killed. In part, they do it to put pressure on Mexican authorities to release their captured allies, she said.
Sometimes the violence comes a few days or weeks after the initial arrest. “It remains to be seen if this is a durable situation,” Farfan said.
She added that it’s worth noting that Mexican citizens and foreign tourists were not targeted during Sunday’s operations.
