Jorge Said Salgado Mendoza began a life of crime at the age of 14.
As a teenager, he was recruited by street-level drug dealers who reached him through his father, José de la Cruz Salgado Sotelo. Today, both the son—now 21—and the father—50—are in custody.
The young Jorge Said, nicknamed “El Serafín,” confessed to working for the cell led by “El Ranchero”—identified as Franklin Ernesto Huezo Hernández—a criminal leader within a Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) cell. He readily admitted to his captors that he had taken part in more than 35 murders on behalf of the cartel.
At just 21 years old, he was already one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s most prolific hitmen.
On the day he was arrested—alongside his father, José de la Cruz Salgado Sotelo, and another individual, Jesús González Rodríguez—”El Serafín” was carrying a long gun, ammunition, and tactical gear. However, when agents from the State Citizen Security Force (FESC) ran his name through the criminal record database, they were alerted that the young man was already the subject of three outstanding arrest warrants for aggravated homicide.
According to the FESC officers involved in the arrest, Jorge Said is also suspected of participating in the murder of his former colleague, Officer Óscar Arturo Arellano Moreno, who was killed on July 25, 2026, in the Nuevo Milenio neighborhood.
Yet, despite the three arrest warrants against “El Serafín”—recorded under case file NUC 2-4-2024-5464 and files 102004202623119 and 102004202618441—when he was brought before the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) for illegal weapons possession, the Sinaloa Cartel hitman admitted to participating in more than 35 homicides, though he denied involvement in the killing of FESC Officer Óscar Arellano.
What he did confess to was belonging to the criminal cell led by Franklin Ernesto Huezo Hernández—known as “El Ranchero”—of the Sinaloa Cartel. Huezo Hernández is a priority target for the Baja California Security Council and a leader in a bloody criminal war against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a conflict that has resulted in hundreds of killings across at least three municipalities: Rosarito, Tijuana, and Tecate. “El Serafín” was arrested on the morning of Tuesday, October 6, after a citizen approached personnel from the State Force and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of the Federal Government (known as “los Harfuchs”) to report the presence of three men—one of whom was carrying a firearm—on Amanecer Street in the Terrazas de San Bernardo neighborhood.
At the scene, State Force officers encountered three men; the individual carrying a long gun attempted to retreat into a house but was prevented from doing so by the officers, who immediately intervened and detained him—this was “El Serafín.” Seized from him were the long gun, a double-drum magazine containing 40 live rounds, a magazine with eight live rounds, a brown tactical vest, and a clear plastic bag containing methamphetamine.” The seized items—weapon, ammunition, vest, and drugs—along with the three detainees, were transported for medical evaluation and turned over to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) under case file number 1497852/2026.
“El Ranchero” Escapes; “El 500” Is Captured
Three days before the capture of “Serafín,” the Sinaloa Cartel cell led by “El Ranchero” suffered another loss.
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, FESC officers believed they had cornered “El Ranchero.” They had tracked him from Rosarito to Tijuana and into the vicinity of Tecate; however, when they thought they had him cornered, the man they detained turned out to be another member of the criminal group: Luis Adán Torales Castillo, known as “El 500.”
What was unusual was that “El 500” had previously been arrested and was presumed to be in prison; he had been apprehended in March 2023—along with four others—for the attempted aggravated homicide of an FGE agent, José Alberto Martínez Enríquez (“El Potro”), who would later die following the armed attack.
Indeed, in 2023, authorities arrested Luis Adán Torales Castillo (“El 500”), José Luis Cruz Pérez (“El Tilín”), Roberto Martínez Hincapíe (“Don Rober”), Fabricio Hernández Correa, and Rigoberto Chávez González (“El Checo”). Prosecutors charged them all as co-conspirators of “crimes involving aggravated homicide—specifically homicide committed with unfair advantage and treachery—criminal conspiracy, and crimes committed against members of state police institutions.”
However, they were all acquitted. Consequently, on October 3, 2026, when FESC officers thought they had cornered “El Ranchero,” the man actually being pursued was “El 500.” He was taken into custody once again.
The 2026 arrest was for the crimes of illegal possession of a firearm and possession of drugs—specifically crystal meth—leading to him being handed over to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR). According to investigators, Luis Adán Torales Castillo—known as “El 500″—controls local drug dealing and leads the drug war on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Tijuana and Tecate, operating within “El Ranchero’s” cell. Authorities mapped out the criminal cell’s area of operations across three municipalities: starting in Rosarito, extending through the Urbi Villa del Campo area of Tijuana, and reaching Tecate, where murder records have been broken in 2026.
“El 500” was arrested in the early hours of October 3—around 4:30 a.m.—in the Costa Rica neighborhood of Rosarito while in transit; during the stop, officers seized his vehicle, weapons, and drugs. Prior to the arrest, FESC agents managed to bypass the lookout network established by “El 500,” which included the use of drones to protect both him and “El Ranchero.”
Authorities seized a sedan with license plate AYB-729-A from Luis Adán Torales Castillo, along with several doses of crystal meth and a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun; among his belongings, he was also carrying a cap bearing the phrase “Free Mayo.” On the same day he was apprehended, he was handed over to the FGR (Attorney General’s Office).
“El Aquiles” Cell Arrested with Drugs and Weapons; Group Dismembered Bodies
Felipe de Jesús Sifuentes Medina is 21 years old and has a history of multiple crimes.
On the night of October 4, at approximately 8:39 PM, he was arrested by State Citizen Security Force (FESC) officers assigned to Tijuana, alongside four other individuals: April Nicole Rodríguez Reyes, 19, originally from Los Angeles, California; Pedro López González, a 60-year-old man from Chihuahua; Manuel Alberto Ayala Bañuelos, 52, born in Sinaloa; and Felipe de Jesús Cifuentes, 55, from Tijuana (the latter being the father of the first).
The arrest occurred while FESC agents were patrolling Lorenzo Barcelata Street in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood and spotted the group of five. Upon realizing they had been discovered, the individuals attempted to flee; during the attempt, Felipe de Jesús Sifuentes Medina discarded a bag containing smaller packets of what officers identified as cocaine.
They were apprehended on the spot, and the drugs in their possession were seized: Felipe Sifuentes Medina had “five small bags, all containing a white powder appearing to be cocaine,” while Nicole Rodríguez, Pedro López, Manuel Ayala, and Felipe Sifuentes Pacheco had “two small bags, all containing a white powder appearing to be cocaine.” Following this seizure, the five individuals were turned over to authorities on charges related to drug offenses.
Felipe de Jesús Sifuentes Medina told his captors that he was part of the Sinaloa Cartel, specifically the “Los Aquiles” cell—the designation for those working criminally for Alfonso Arzate García (“El Aquiles”). The FBI (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation) offers a five-million-dollar reward for Arzate García’s capture, as well as for information leading to the arrest of his brother, René Arzate García (“La Rana”), and Juan José Ponce Félix (“El Ruso”).
Among the items seized from the 21-year-old was his mobile phone; upon inspection, agents found evidence of the cell’s brutal methods for committing murders, including videos of people being beheaded in cold blood. The evidence showed the savage, violent, and arrogant dismemberment of bodies and the handling of human remains—which they flaunted as trophies—along with records of drug shipments received and distributed, and numerous weapons used in their violent crimes.
The agents who arrested the five individuals also revealed that they are the suspected perpetrators behind the beheading of a person whose body parts—accompanied by threatening messages—were scattered across two separate locations:
* “Incident 1474538/2026 at 19:04 hours: discovery of a severed head and a banner bearing a criminal message on Bellas Artes Street in the Garita de Otay neighborhood.” * “Incident 1475152/2026 at 8:39 PM, involving the discovery of a body wrapped in a rug on José López Portillo Avenue, opposite number 246 in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood.”
The detainees revealed to officers that the homicide and dismemberment had been carried out “at the residence on Lorenzo Barcelata Street—a single-story pink house with blue bars, featuring a small blue apartment at the rear where the criminal act took place; for reference, it is located next to the house marked number 43 in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood.”
The areas where the detainees exerted criminal influence included the street where they were apprehended—“Lorenzo Barcelata number 40 in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood, Sor Juana Street next to Samy’s Grocery, and the Oxxo Otay Línea.” They were also responsible for “keeping the area clear of extortionists and rival cartels that extort or demand protection money from local business owners, as well as managing drug sales in the Otay modules area.”
Having been arrested *in flagrante delicto*—caught in the act while in possession of drugs—the five individuals were turned over to the State Attorney General’s Office, along with the mobile phone that served as evidence of their atrocities.
Source: Zeta Tijuana
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