BCS Has An Increase Of Over 124% In Murders

Baja California Sur currently ranks fifth nationwide in terms of lethal violence, according to the organization México Evalúa, data confirmed by the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.

In the first eight months of 2025, intentional homicides increased 124 percent compared to the same period in 2024. From 37 cold-blooded murders last year, there have now been 83; of these, 73.5 percent were committed with a firearm, 7.2 percent with a knife, 4.8 percent with another object, and the remainder have not been specified.

“BCS is already in a very complicated security crisis. What has happened has hit the police forces hard like never before: there is fear in the response units; they are acting out of fear, and that is risky. This is leading to more police abuse, with officers reacting to the slightest provocation, and their desperation to achieve results leading to injustices against citizens. What the commanders should do is calm their officers and act on intelligence; too much information is flowing,” acknowledged one of the representatives of the Citizen Council for Security and Criminal Justice.

Only 24 hours had passed since the visit of Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, President of Mexico, on September 27 when violence erupted again in the municipality of Comondú, the scene of the clash between the Sinaloa Cartel factions of La Chapiza and La Mayiza.

After the capture of Francisco Fabián Jaime Meza, alias “El Tata,” 46, on September 18 at a home located on Prolongación Benito Juárez and Vicente Guerrero in the Centro neighborhood of Ciudad Constitución, in the municipality of Comondú, both Loreto and Comondú felt a tense atmosphere.

As of 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 28, residents reported the presence of a body at kilometer 8.5 of the Ciudad Constitución – Ejido Number 5 highway, apparently executed.

Members of the State Criminal Investigation Agency of the State Attorney General’s Office (PGJE) cordoned off the area, where they located the body of a male with gunshot wounds. The victim was wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans, a black belt, and boots.

“Once they captured Tata, everything calmed down for the moment, but it was obvious that things were only going to escalate further, because Tata was really just one of the criminals in a very small cell. For two weeks, security forces implemented operations in the streets, not trying to restore peace, but rather to ensure a peaceful day during the President’s stay in La Paz; even while she was in La Paz, Comondú was surrounded by military personnel to ‘scare off’ the criminals,” said the source from the State Security Roundtable.

The violence generated by drug cartels is related to the logistics of drug trafficking, according to Arturo Rubio Ruiz, legal representative of the Citizen Council for the Assistance of Victims of Crime in Baja California Sur.

“In terms of violence, three states maintained a very negative balance from January to July 2025: Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa. The state continues to be used as a strategic point by organizations to move narcotics toward the northern border, where lethal violence persists as a result of disputes between operational cells of the factions that formerly comprised the Sinaloa Cartel,” the specialist stated.

DRUG DEALING ON THE RISE

Three cases of drug dealing are reported daily in Baja California Sur, an already very common practice that hasn’t been eradicated and a public health problem that authorities have been unable to resolve. From 2024 to the first eight months of 2025, there has already been a 7.7 percent increase in this crime.

While 691 cases of drug dealing were reported in 2024, the number rose to 744 incidents in 2025, all of which have been filed.

Criminal justice specialist Arturo Rubio Ruiz acknowledges that this stems primarily from the crisis in residential areas, the lack of opportunities, and a government that doesn’t see, much less listen to, the real problems of the neighborhoods in the five municipalities.

“Job insecurity and the lack of opportunities for young people fuel parallel economies such as drug dealing and theft. Although there has been progress, there remains limited operational capacity, poor inter-institutional coordination, and a lack of action protocols. Police standards are very low, and there is no comprehensive monitoring of crimes,” Rubio Ruiz asserted.

The authorities are so concerned with providing numbers and results that they forget that residents are crying out for help, as opposed to eradicating criminal behavior. It seems that security forces are working for criminals, as demonstrated by the removal of surveillance cameras from residents in municipalities such as La Paz, Comondú, and Loreto.

“The Video Surveillance Law stipulates that citizens have the right to access these video cameras; it’s absurd. I have cameras in my house, and it’s also for our safety. As a citizen, I say this,” denounced Morena representative Guadalupe Vázquez Jacinto, following a complaint from residents of La Paz who were having their surveillance cameras removed from public streets.

Citizens immediately denounced the fact that it seemed the capital’s Municipal Police were protecting criminals, as in several high-crime neighborhoods, security units were using cranes to remove video surveillance equipment without a warrant, and drug sales in those areas had been on the rise.

“There are three well-identified drug stores: the one in Ocampo by the Federal Electricity Commission, the one in Privada Aguacate by CBTIS 62, and the one in Colonia Santa Fe in Santa Isabel between San Martín and San Miguel; these stores had already been closed and were monitored by Municipal Police, yet they are still operating. So, do they really want to end this problem? Well, don’t let this go,” stated the representative of the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

In the community of Guerrero Negro, municipality of Mulegé, on September 18, approximately 200 fentanyl pills, live ammunition, tactical equipment, and some doses of crystal meth were also seized, all inside a maroon Kia pickup truck parked on a building.

When federal forces arrived in response to an alleged anonymous call from armed individuals, they entered the home and seized the vehicle. However, nothing was found inside the house, only the vehicle, which didn’t belong to the homeowners.

Despite this, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) seized the property, affecting an innocent family who rented the house to a woman. The woman had left the house two days before the vehicle was found parked at the home.

“I was going to vacate the house. I was supposed to get the keys two days later. The day before I was supposed to get the keys, the soldiers arrived in the early morning, at approximately 3:30 a.m., and opened the door. I asked to speak to the commander, who approached me. I told him I was the owner, gave him my ID, and he told me to come in. He gave me access to the truck. He showed me that the truck was carrying ammunition and some kind of drugs, is what they say,” said Cristina Chairez.

She rented the house to help her son, who is studying in Ensenada, Baja California, with the rent. Now her house is insured, as is the paperwork for the deeds, although they asked her to send the purchase agreement to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ciudad Constitución to try to expedite the return of the property.

Regarding the drug stores in La Paz, Attorney General Antonio López Rodríguez himself stated that they cannot “seize the homes because they are regularly rented and the owner has nothing to do with the matter or is unfamiliar with the activity carried out inside.”

52% MORE WEAPONS ON THE STREETS

According to federal crime figures presented by the National Public Security Secretariat, regarding the crime of using firearms exclusively for the armed forces or violating the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, firearm possession has already exceeded 52 percent so far in 2025 compared to the entire year of 2024.

According to federal complaints, 71 investigation files were filed last year for carrying firearms as stipulated by Federal Law, while in the first eight months of 2025, 108 cases have been officially recorded.

On April 25, 2025, one day after three public transport buses were burned in the municipality of Los Cabos, security forces were attacked with gunfire while searching a property located on Puerto Chileno Boulevard and Los Pinos in the Arcos del Sol II neighborhood of the community of Cabo San Lucas, municipality of Los Cabos.

At that moment, Bernardo Soriano, the then Deputy Attorney General for High-Impact Crimes (SADAI), was injured by gunfire. During minutes of gunfire with the gunmen, security forces arrested four individuals.

José N., Noel N., Luis N., and Mónico N., allegedly members of La Mayiza, were arrested carrying seven long guns, four magazines, more than 500 live rounds of ammunition, and a vehicle.

“The Control Judge ordered the prosecution of José N., Noel N., Luis N., and Mónico N. for the crime of carrying a firearm and ammunition for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces, as provided for and sanctioned by the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives. The precautionary measure imposed was pretrial detention, and a three-month period was granted for the completion of a complementary investigation,” the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) reported.

Likewise, the registry of the Executive Secretariat of the National Security System confirmed that from January to August 2025, intentional injuries caused by firearms have increased by 37.5 percent, a benchmark for the use of firearms on the streets.

Source: Zeta Tijuana