Gang Shootout in Tijuana leaves 13 dead

Police said Rival gangs opened  fire with rifles and automatic weapons on the streets of Tijuana early Saturday morning in a wild and bloody shootout which killed13 people and wounding several others in this latest incidence of drug related violence

Gunmen began firing on each other with rifles and automatic weapons in a light industrial area east of the city, according to authorities, leaving a trail of corpses, spent shell casings and bullet-riddled vehicles across Tijuana as the combatants gave chase to one another.

The initial confrontation on Boulevard Insurgentes, a major thoroughfare, the battle there raged for at least 10 minutes leaving abandoned vehicles, scattered weapons, broken glass, a blood-soaked bullet-proof vest and several corpses, including one with its head blown nearly off.

The shootout is just the latest in a spasm of drug-related violence that has gripped the border town this year. In the first four months of 2008, Tijuana has seen dozens of kidnappings, assaults and homicides, including children gunned down in the mayhem.

The motive for Saturday’s bloodshed is still unclear. Police said it could have been a falling out between factions of the so-called Arellano Felix narcotics cartel, which has long controlled the drug trade in this city. Or it could be another cartel trying to move in its turf. Some speculate that the killings may have been revenge by traffickers against suspected snitches.

Experts said the recent violence is linked to major offensives by authorities against organized crime drug traffickers, an operation that has strained delicate alliances between traffickers that had previously cooperated in the lucrative narcotics trade.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, in cooperation with state and local authorities, has sent hundreds of soldiers and federal police to Tijuana and other trafficking hot spots this year, an operation that has resulted in several high-profile arrests and seizures of caches of drugs and weapons.

Organized crime has responded with unprecedented ferocity to intimidate informants and police and to punish rivals they suspect of betraying them.

In January, gunmen stormed the home of Tijuana Deputy Police Chief Margarito Saldana Rivera, killing him, his wife and two daughters, the youngest age 12. A young couple and their 3-year-old son were slain the same week in what was believed to be a case of mistaken identity.

The situation in Tijuana has grown particularly volatile after a Mexican general this week publicly identified more than a dozen high-ranking public officials and law enforcement officers he alleges are in league with organized crime.

Gen. Sergio Aponte Polito made the claims in an open letter to the Tijuana daily newspaper Frontera, sparking controversy so heated that Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos appealed for calm.

Share/Bookmark