Mexican border cities hit by burning vehicles and blockades

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Mexicali, Rosarito and Ensenada have been hit by gang violence that has included burning vehicles and roadblocks.

The United States Consulate in Tijuana instructed its employees to “shelter in place until further notice” around midnight due to the violence.

It was the third time this week that Mexican cities have seen widespread arson and shooting by drug cartels. Gangs appear to target stores, vehicles, and innocent bystanders in response to disputes or attempts to capture gang members.

Tijuana officials said vehicles had been burned at about 10 points around the city, with Mayor Montserrat Caballero attributing it to disputes between drug gangs.

Caballero publicly called for “organized crime,” the term used in Mexico for drug cartels, to stop the growing trend of targeting innocent civilians.

“Today we are telling the organized crime groups that are committing these crimes, that Tijuana is going to stay open and take care of its citizens, and we also ask them to settle their debts with those who did not pay what they owe, not with families. and working citizens.

The extent of the violence was still unclear on Saturday. On Friday night, the US Consulate General in Tijuana said in a statement that it “is aware of reports of multiple vehicle fires, roadblocks, and heavy police activity in Tijuana, Mexicali, Rosarito, Ensenada, and Tecate. ”.

The mayor’s comment about staying open was an apparent reference to the border city of Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas, where some classes and public events were canceled after similar violence Thursday.

Suspected gang members have opened fire in Ciudad Juárez, killing nine people, including four radio station employees, after a fight between rival gangs at a local prison left two inmates dead.

On Tuesday, drug cartel gunmen burned down vehicles and businesses in the western states of Jalisco and Guanajuato in response to an attempt to arrest a high-ranking leader of the Jalisco cartel.

The area around Tijuana, which borders Southern California, is a lucrative drug trafficking corridor long dominated by the Arellano Félix cartel, but has since become a battleground between various gangs, including the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels.

Speaking about the violence in Ciudad Juárez on Thursday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: “They attacked the civilian and innocent population as a kind of revenge. It was not just a confrontation between two groups, but it got to the point where they started shooting civilians, innocent people. That is the most unfortunate thing in this matter.”

Four employees of the MegaRadio station, who were broadcasting a promotional event live outside a pizzeria in Ciudad Juárez, died in the shooting.

Such random violence is unprecedented in Mexico.

In June of last year, a rival faction of the Gulf cartel entered the border city of Reynosa and murdered 14 people the governor identified as “innocent citizens.” The military responded and killed four suspected gunmen.

And cartels in Mexico often hijack vehicles and burn them to distract police or prevent them from going after gunmen.

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