Extortions in Tijuana Linked to Terrorist Group Cartel Jalisco New Generation
The recent arrest of a cartel member in Jalisco has been linked to several cases of extortion and arson in the border city of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexican authorities revealed.
Investigators from the Baja California Attorney General’s (FGE) office tracked down and worked with their counterparts in Jalisco to arrest a man known as El Matute, who is the accused mastermind of a cell of gunmen that operated in Tijuana, extorting taxi drivers and local businesses. Due to Mexican laws, authorities identified El Matute only as Luis “N.”
Information released by the FGE of Baja California revealed that from Jalisco, El Matute would coordinate a cell of armed men who would go to local businesses and threaten them, or else. The gunmen also boarded local taxis as customers and, once on board, threatened the driver, telling him that they now worked for them and would be forced to pay protection fees.
According to Baja California Attorney General Maria Elena Andrade, the group was already linked to four separate arsons, presumably used to bring their victims into line.
The investigation focused on the arrest of some of the gunmen, and police investigators were able to trace communications between them and El Matute, who lived in Zapopan, Jalisco.
The man known as El Matute avoided traveling to Baja California because there were pending charges in that state, including murder, authorities revealed.
State authorities’ crackdown on extortion comes shortly after federal authorities arrested the mayor of Jalisco’s Tequila Town and two of his top aides for using their positions to extort local businesses on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Breitbart Texas reported at the time. The case drew attention to Mexico’s growing extortion problem, which had been largely ignored by government officials.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning Breitbart News Foundation journalist. He co-founded the Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart senior management. You can follow it Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart senior management. Follow him on Twitter And Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
