DAVID MAUNG / Special to SignOnSanDiego
A forensics worker puts on rubber gloves at the scene where a man was gunned down in Rosarito Beach.
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TIJUANA – As the body count grew Wednesday in the deadly feud between rival drug gangs, Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos promised his police force would not back down from the recent onslaught of violence.
Ramos also welcomed the announcement from Baja California's governor that federal forces – including the Mexican army – will have an increased presence in the state, specifically in Tijuana and Rosarito Beach. The wave of violence resulted in 14 more dead in Tijuana and Rosarito Beach between Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon.
About 70 murders have been attributed to drug violence in Tijuana since Sept. 28.
At a news conference in which he distributed new body armor to municipal police officers, Ramos characterized the federal government's response to the recent violence as tepid.
The mayor said it is the federal government's responsibility to investigate and prosecute organized crime and he had not seen much action.
“We have a police force taking on crimes that should be handled at the federal level,” Ramos said. “We will continue to do it because the public demands it.”
Baja California Gov. Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan and President Felipe Calderon met in Mexico City Tuesday, with the governor later announcing the new operation aimed at quelling the violence.
More federal forces will be sent to reinforce local efforts to stop the bloodshed. He did not give any details and there was not a noticeable increase in law enforcement on Tijuana's streets Wednesday afternoon.
The operation may be similar to Operation Tijuana, which Calderon ordered shortly after taking office as part of his plan to break up the nation's powerful drug cartels. Up to 3,300 federal police officers and soldiers were sent to the border city with the goal of reducing corruption, lawlessness and violence in the region. The recent string of slayings indicates any gains made by the effort may have been lost.
Calderon's success in arresting the leaders of some of the organized drug cartels has led to smaller, well-armed bands of criminals that are now fighting each other, according to experts. The cells specialize in public executions aimed at intimidating rivals, authorities have said.
Four men – including three who were together – were shot to death near Rosarito Beach Tuesday evening, according to the Baja California Attorney General's Office.
In Tijuana, 10 bodies were discovered Wednesday, including five within 80 minutes in the late afternoon. The agency did not identify any of the victims and said that no one had been detained.
Armed men entered the seafood restaurant Del Pacfico at 5:40 p.m. and killed a waiter and wounded another man, the Attorney General's Office said. Authorities found a handwritten sign at a table, indicating the business had been targeted because “this is the restaurant of El Albañil.” That apparently is a reference to Fernando Sanchez Arellano, also known as “El Ingeniero.” He reportedly now operates the Arellano Felix drug cartel.
Last week, authorities said they were examining two barrels found outside Del Pacfico to see if they contained acid and human remains.
Officials suspect the latest slayings are part of the ongoing feud between rival drug gangs and factions that has resulted in the appearance of bodies across the state in the last few weeks.
Most of the slayings have occurred in Tijuana, and many of the victims have been dumped at night along roadsides or in vacant lots. However, a very visible violent act occurred Saturday night when a running gunbattle erupted and hundreds of bullets were fired on one of the city's main highways. One man was killed.
The rest of the state has not been immune, as two state police officers in Mexicali, the state capital, were fatally shot Tuesday, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Freelance writer Omar Millan Gonzalez contributed to this report.
Jose Jimenez: (619) 293-1865; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
