Crime
Tijuana mayor moves to military base after death threats, crackdown on cartels
Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced her decision after police officers found seven dead bodies inside a pickup truck parked at a gas station in the border city
June 14, 2023 7:28am
Updated: June 14, 2023 7:28am
The mayor of the border city of Tijuana moved into a Mexican army installation for her own safety after she received several death threats.
Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced her decision after police officers found seven dead bodies inside a pickup truck parked at a gas station in the border city on Monday. One body was found wrapped in a blue blanket in the cab of the Ford F-150, while six others were in the bed of the truck.
Police also found gasoline in the car, suggesting that the drivers planned to set the vehicle on fire and destroy the evidence of the crime. The two men driving the vehicle were arrested. Police are currently investigating to “determine if the suspects were part of a criminal organization or not.”
“I have received threats, so I am going to live at the base,” Caballero said during the news briefing of the arrest, without specifying where the death threats were coming from. However, her administration said that the threats were related to Caballero’s “strong results in weapons seizures and arrest of violent suspects.”
Caballero told reporters that the threats increased after her administration confiscated 1,700 firearms from criminal groups and detained 56 individuals.
"They are angry," she said. "And that's why I've been receiving threats."
Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California, is well known for drug cartel-related violence. In the past year alone, killings in the border city have increased by around 9%, making it the city with the most homicides in the country, according to the federal public safety department.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that the decision to move the mayor to the army base was made two weeks ago to “protect her.” However, he did not offer more details on the decision. The army base where she is moving into is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Tijuana’s city hall.
"We reached an agreement to help protect her and will continue to do so," the president said.
