Tijuana Killings Haunt a City Striving to Overcome Violence of Years Past Sandra Dibble - San Diego Union-Tribune
go to original October 4, 2016

Police tape surrounds a Tijuana crime scene after a shooting (Guillermo Arias/AP)

Homicides have been back in the headlines in Tijuana, casting a pall over a period of optimism and economic growth. They come as the city has seen a rise in maquiladora employment, plans for a new bus rapid-transit system, a boom in high-end residential construction, the flourishing of a craft beer scene, the opening of new bars and restaurants, the staging of numerous festivals where crowds celebrate everything from opera to art to tequila to the Caesar salad.

With 636 killings in Tijuana through the end of September, 2016 is shaping up to be the most violent year since 2010, and last month’s 89 homicides made it the most violent so far this year.

Law enforcement authorities have said the great majority of victims and perpetrators are members of Tijuana’s neighborhood drug underworld, often street dealers with addictions and criminal records. But even so, the rising tally is an uncomfortable reminder of the unprecedented violence that gripped the city eight years ago as rival trafficking groups waged a brutal battle waged for control of the plaza.

“It’s what all the reporters keep asking me, ‘Are we going back to the way we were in 2008?” said Miguel Angel Guerrero, head of special investigations in Tijuana for the Baja California Attorney General’s Office. “God save us from going back to what we went through in 2008.”

A rise in homicides in different parts of Mexico has been a source of growing concern. Because of its high numbers, Tijuana is among 50 cities nationwide that will be targeted by a new federal anti-crime initiative launched this month and to be implemented gradually over the coming months.

A tally by Mexico’s federal government of municipalities with the greatest number of homicides showed Tijuana’s numbers only second to Acapulco, according to an analysis of the numbers by the independent news website Animal Politico. With 44 homicides per 100,000 residents, Tijuana was ranked 15th out of 50 Mexican cities, the site reported. Two smaller Baja California cities also made the list: Rosarito Beach with a higher rate than Tijuana and Tecate, which has virtually the same rate as Tijuana.

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