Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Narco wars spill more blood in Tijuana

But no slow down in foreign investment

Zeta headline “Wanted Cops for Murder” - Image by Matthew Suárez
Zeta headline “Wanted Cops for Murder”

“Lo más seguro mataron a alguien” ("probably someone got shot"), I exclaimed to my girlfriend as I was driving down Calle Cuarta (4th Street) in downtown Tijuana on the afternoon of February 15. Yellow tape blocked my way and a motorcycle cop directed traffic. 

Blood on the corner of 4th and Revolución

Later that night, walking to Insurgente's tap room for a beer, I saw a pool of blood on the corner of 4th Street and Avenida Revolución, a touristy spot. Three unlit candles and a plastic water bottle were placed on the corner. Across the street, a LizardBear mascot of the company TaskUs danced happily enticing people to enter the brewery to be recruited to work for a call center. A heavy police force and the Mexican army covered the perimeter, but other than that, the city acted like nothing happened. The city continues desensitized to violence.

“I saw the killer run down the street,” said the bartender in Insurgente. “A nearby cop, instead of chasing the suspect, stayed with the dying body and did nothing but call other cops.” The victim died on the scene. 

Tijuana news reported that the suspect was not apprehended. Most crimes go unsolved.

Despite heavy police and army presence throughout the city, murders happen everywhere in broad daylight. It is common to see army trucks parading like Call of Duty cosplayers with heavy machine guns mounted. 

Sponsored
Sponsored
LizardBear, mascot of the company TaskUs

Baja California reported more than 400 homicides in the first two months of 2024. Of those, 325 were in Tijuana.

“We are having a violent start of the year,” says Roberto Quijano, president of Consejo del Ciudadano de Seguridad del Estado de Baja California (Baja's state’s safety council). “Other crimes are increasing like stolen vehicles, home and business burglary. Other crimes like fraud and threats have been increasing exponentially," says a story on Uniradio.

The total of homicides in the state in 2023 was 2,455, of those 1,855 were in Tijuana, 197 fewer than in 2022. Downtown Tijuana was responsible for 169 of those. As usual, the violence is attributed to narco wars fighting over turf.

It is not only violence; the rest of the city continues to be a mess. The headline on the newspaper Zeta for the last week of March reads “Wanted Cops for Murder.” The subhead reads “More Uncoordinated Road Construction Chokes Alternative Routes.” The city is affected by crumbling bridges, abandoned projects, incomplete infrastructure, and a corrupt government that funnels money to shady contractors. 

Despite this, foreign investment hasn't stopped; more than $2.6 billion USD was invested in 2023 in new and old Baja businesses, an 18 percent increase from 2022. The city’s economy and population are on steady growth.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village
Zeta headline “Wanted Cops for Murder” - Image by Matthew Suárez
Zeta headline “Wanted Cops for Murder”

“Lo más seguro mataron a alguien” ("probably someone got shot"), I exclaimed to my girlfriend as I was driving down Calle Cuarta (4th Street) in downtown Tijuana on the afternoon of February 15. Yellow tape blocked my way and a motorcycle cop directed traffic. 

Blood on the corner of 4th and Revolución

Later that night, walking to Insurgente's tap room for a beer, I saw a pool of blood on the corner of 4th Street and Avenida Revolución, a touristy spot. Three unlit candles and a plastic water bottle were placed on the corner. Across the street, a LizardBear mascot of the company TaskUs danced happily enticing people to enter the brewery to be recruited to work for a call center. A heavy police force and the Mexican army covered the perimeter, but other than that, the city acted like nothing happened. The city continues desensitized to violence.

“I saw the killer run down the street,” said the bartender in Insurgente. “A nearby cop, instead of chasing the suspect, stayed with the dying body and did nothing but call other cops.” The victim died on the scene. 

Tijuana news reported that the suspect was not apprehended. Most crimes go unsolved.

Despite heavy police and army presence throughout the city, murders happen everywhere in broad daylight. It is common to see army trucks parading like Call of Duty cosplayers with heavy machine guns mounted. 

Sponsored
Sponsored
LizardBear, mascot of the company TaskUs

Baja California reported more than 400 homicides in the first two months of 2024. Of those, 325 were in Tijuana.

“We are having a violent start of the year,” says Roberto Quijano, president of Consejo del Ciudadano de Seguridad del Estado de Baja California (Baja's state’s safety council). “Other crimes are increasing like stolen vehicles, home and business burglary. Other crimes like fraud and threats have been increasing exponentially," says a story on Uniradio.

The total of homicides in the state in 2023 was 2,455, of those 1,855 were in Tijuana, 197 fewer than in 2022. Downtown Tijuana was responsible for 169 of those. As usual, the violence is attributed to narco wars fighting over turf.

It is not only violence; the rest of the city continues to be a mess. The headline on the newspaper Zeta for the last week of March reads “Wanted Cops for Murder.” The subhead reads “More Uncoordinated Road Construction Chokes Alternative Routes.” The city is affected by crumbling bridges, abandoned projects, incomplete infrastructure, and a corrupt government that funnels money to shady contractors. 

Despite this, foreign investment hasn't stopped; more than $2.6 billion USD was invested in 2023 in new and old Baja businesses, an 18 percent increase from 2022. The city’s economy and population are on steady growth.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Next Article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader