Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Public Safety

Baja's Attorney General Says "El Teo's" Drug Gang Not Dead, Yet

Baja's Attorney General Says "El Teo's" Drug Gang Not Dead, Yet
Baja Calfiornia's Attorney General Rommel Moreno says the arrests of two drug gang leaders who operated in Tijuana are not a death blow for the brutal drug trafficking group. Meanwhile, Mexican authorities have linked one of the alleged leaders to yet more heinous crimes.

Baja Calfiornia's Attorney General Rommel Moreno says the arrests of two drug gang leaders who operated in Tijuana are not a death blow for the brutal drug trafficking group. Meanwhile, Mexican authorities have linked one of the alleged leaders to yet more heinous crimes.

The list of crimes Mexican federal police pin on Reydel Lopez Uriarte, or "El Muletas", includes many of the most sensational and gruesome crimes in Tijuana during the last few years.

Police say in addition to 350 murders, Lopez Uriarte ordered a Tijuana prison riot. He decapitated a model. Police say he castrated a public official and hung him naked from an overpass. They say he kidnapped businessmen, cloned police cars and killed officers.

Advertisement

Attorney General Rommel Moreno says the arrests of Lopez Uriarte and the group's alleged financial and operational head fragment the gang.

"We must remember their abilities. But what is clear is that the government is winning," Moreno said.

Moreno says authorities plan to purge the police in Baja California. Five high ranking Tijuana officers were recently detained after being linked to the two drug gang leaders.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.