“Mondaca: You failed to honor our agreement; turn over the 1,700 pounds. If not, return them. We have located you, your commander Soto, and Jorge Mora” [sic];
With this message inscribed on a banner hung on Friday, March 20, from one of the bridges spanning the Tijuana-Ensenada highway, drug traffickers accused members of Baja California’s State Citizen Security Force of two crimes:
1.- The theft of one thousand pounds of “crystal” meth, in connection with a raid conducted on March 18 in Tecate, during which the official report listed the seizure of 700 pounds of methamphetamine. The one thousand “missing” pounds of drugs were allegedly stolen a day earlier.
2.- Having “agreements” to refrain from combating the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)—the alleged owners of the seized shipment.
The Police Report indicates that two of the three agents mentioned in the narco-message participated in the original official operation that preceded the raid: Sergio Chávez Mondaca, Director of the State Force’s Investigation Division—referred to as “Mondaca”—and Carlos René Soto García, Commander of the Ensenada Investigation Division—referred to as “Commander Soto.”
As for Jorge Mora—who was singled out by name—he served as the commander of the FESC in Tecate; however, he was relieved of his post and transferred out of that municipality last month.
According to preliminary information gathered by the authorities investigating the case, the reason the banner was hung in Tijuana rather than in Tecate is that the narcotics in question belonged to a criminal group based in the Third Section of the Obrera neighborhood within that border city.
This cell is reportedly headed by Jonathan Raymundo Cortés Rangel—alias “El Comandante” or “El Comanche”—a criminal operative in the service of Javier Adrián Beltrán Cabrera (alias “El Puma,” “R4,” “Pedrito,” and/or “El Pit”). Both men serve as operatives for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Baja California.
Cortés Rangel, 33, has been detained on multiple occasions since 2013. Of particular note is his apprehension more than three years ago, when he was identified as the alleged mastermind behind the arsons ordered by the Jalisco Cartel across various Baja California municipalities in August 2022. He was also detained in April 2025 as the alleged perpetrator of an attempted homicide targeting police officers in Tijuana’s Colonia Obrera neighborhood.
THE COMPLAINT
ZETA was informed of the seizure—and alleged theft—of methamphetamine by FESC officers on the afternoon of Thursday, March 19. The officers came forward because they wanted to avoid “attacks against the agency in general”; their intention was to ensure that the alleged perpetrators were identified or investigated.
“…It took place at a warehouse in the San Pablo neighborhood, but the commanders are handling the information with great confidentiality,” they warned.
“The missing narcotics—one thousand pounds of methamphetamine, or 455.592 kilograms—was removed a day earlier,” stated police commanders from the State Security Secretariat.
This weekly publication learned that, upon opening the warehouse to conduct the search, federal authorities did indeed find “empty pots and destroyed planters” (concrete blocks in which the drugs had been concealed); however—lacking any prior intelligence or grounds for suspicion—they didn’t conduct tests during that operation to verify whether the empty or demolished containers had been used to store drugs in the past.
And although the state police officers stated that the narcotics were bound for the United States, federal agents indicated that they found neither documents nor any other indication regarding the origin or final destination of the methamphetamine.
When questioned by their superiors, the officers named in the threatening banner denied the criminals’ allegations, arguing: “I’m not going to get myself involved in a mess like that,” and “Tell me: how exactly could we transport that quantity of drugs and those concrete planters?” The three officers whose names appeared in the threat were suspended without a prior investigation.
According to authorities within the Baja California Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSCBC), “the directive was to remove those allegedly involved in any irregular activity until such time as individual responsibilities could be clarified. The investigation is currently in the hands of Internal Affairs.” Nevertheless, they haven’t yet filed a formal complaint with the FGR (Attorney General’s Office). When consulted, an investigative agent explained the version of the robbery circulating within the agency: “The issue was that the operation that first located the warehouse was carried out by a group of agents from outside the immediate area—investigators belonging to Commander Mondaca’s unit—who had no standing agreements,” officials from the SSCBC detailed. “And they are the ones being accused of the robbery.”
“As for the ‘agreements’ that the criminals allege in the banner, those were with the agents currently working in the zone—the ones operating under former Commander Óscar Ochoa Gastélum. Although he is currently assigned as a regular agent, he effectively performs the duties of a commander within the Investigative Division.” It was revealed to *ZETA* that Ochoa was apprehended by U.S. authorities in 2006 at the San Ysidro border crossing while attempting to transport a shipment of marijuana.
Regarding this matter, the State Secretary of Security, General Laureano Carrillo, stated last February that the officer remains with the agency because he was acquitted of the charges brought against him in the United States. He further explained that, at the time of his arrest, Ochoa was assisting his father in the business of selling vehicles; he was detained during one such border crossing—allegedly without any knowledge of the illicit cargo concealed within the car. Nor did the Secretary mention the fact that, typically, vehicle sales in Baja California flow from the United States into Mexico, rather than the other way around.
TWO ARRESTS
According to initial details from the internal investigation—which has yet to yield concrete evidence—regarding the implicated FESC officers, the entire affair began on March 17: the day the officers allegedly misappropriated the missing methamphetamine.
However, official reports date back to the morning of Wednesday, March 18, with the capture of Uriel Závala Moncada, a 34-year-old native of Sinaloa, and Jorge Antonio Mariño Rodríguez, a 49-year-old native of Sinaloa (both presumed innocent until their culpability is established by a judicial authority, pursuant to Article 13 of the CNPP). “At 1:20 PM, while conducting a patrol in the San Pablo neighborhood of Tecate, officers observed two males disturbing the peace; upon noticing the police presence, they fled, discarding a bag as they did so.”
The official incident report states that when officers attempted to intercept them, the men were in the process of exiting—fleeing—from the courtyard of a warehouse.
“They were overtaken a few meters ahead, where officers located three bags—totaling 5.04 kilograms—containing a granular substance exhibiting the characteristics of methamphetamine: one bag was found on the ground, and two were found in the possession of one of the suspects. At 1:24 PM, the officers proceeded to place them under arrest, read them their rights, and seize the evidence. The suspects were then transported for medical certification and subsequently handed over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with an official record of the proceedings being duly established.”
During questioning, these alleged traffickers initially claimed to be operatives for “El Comanche”; later, however, they asserted that the drugs in question were being guarded by state agents because one of the FESC commanders was, in fact, a co-owner of the narcotics. This information was duly reported to senior officials at the Baja California Secretariat of Security; yet, none of these details were included in the formal request for assistance and a search warrant subsequently submitted to the local delegation of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR).
THE SEARCH
On the afternoon of that same Wednesday, March 18, authorities from the Baja California Peace and Security Coordination Roundtable announced that, at 4:30 PM, a search operation—executed by agents of the FGR—had officially commenced. The judicial warrant was executed at a yellow warehouse-workshop located at coordinates 32.554974, -116.540547 on Arboledas Street, in the San Pablo neighborhood of Tecate; the operation was led by a Federal Public Prosecutor and a commander from the FGR (Attorney General’s Office).
They were supported in their surveillance duties by 55 additional personnel who served as lookouts and witnesses to the operation: an Infantry Captain and 12 personnel from the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) in one vehicle; a Sergeant and 19 personnel from the National Guard in two vehicles; a Chief Petty Officer and five personnel from the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) in one vehicle; as well as 15 personnel from the Tecate Fire Department in three vehicles.
In their report, they stated: “…inside, there are several large, square-shaped planters—approximately 1.5 meters high by one meter wide—of a gray color.”
“…fire department personnel equipped with heavy hydraulic and pneumatic tools were requested to assist in opening them, as it is presumed that they contain a drug known as methamphetamine.”
They further detailed the following:
* At 9:15 PM, the fire department personnel who had assisted in breaking open the planters withdrew from the scene.
* At 11:00 PM, the search was concluded, and the premises were secured with FGR seals.
* A total of 172 packages were seized, amounting to an approximate total weight of 700 pounds of methamphetamine.
“It’s a total mess; the guys acting as bosses are fighting amongst themselves for power within the FESC [State Security Force] and over their deals with the criminals. All the different units are at odds with one another—they’re constantly ‘poking each other in the eye.’ The rest of us just don’t want to get caught in the middle,” stated a whistleblower within the force.
CORTÉS RANGEL
Regarding Jonathan Raymundo Cortés Rangel—the alleged criminal ringleader of the two men arrested while guarding the drug warehouse—the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office reported that he had been detained on August 15, 2022, “while committing crimes at the Paris Motel, located on the highway on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa,” alongside five accomplices.
At that time, he was identified as a mid-level commander within the CJNG and was being sought and tracked by the Baja California Attorney General’s Office as one of the four individuals responsible for organizing and carrying out the burning of 39 vehicles across various municipalities in Baja California between Friday, August 12, and Sunday, August 15, 2022. All indications suggest that he was released in Sinaloa, as there are no records of his incarceration in Baja California dating from that period.
In the first quarter of 2025, he was arrested by the FESC on charges of street-level drug dealing but subsequently regained his freedom.
Officers from the Tijuana Municipal Police recaptured him—this time “in the act”—on April 23, 2025, in the company of three other individuals. All four were identified as the alleged perpetrators behind an attempted homicide targeting a group of police officers who were shot at in the Obrera neighborhood of Tijuana—an attack in which a civilian also sustained gunshot wounds.
Judge Elizabeth Castro ordered that he be formally charged and held in preventive detention, granting the request submitted by the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), which had sought his incarceration “for the protection of the victims and due to his lack of established roots in the community.”
However, Cortés Rangel remained incarcerated for only four months—until August 30, 2025—because his attorney, Alejandro Coronado, petitioned the court to modify the precautionary measure. Following a hearing in which the prosecution objected, Judge Lauro Vizcarra—who was removed from office following the judicial elections—modified the precautionary measures to require biweekly signing, the posting of a 7,000-peso bond, a commitment not to approach the victims, and a prohibition against leaving the city.
During the first quarter of 2026, merchants in the Obrera neighborhood anonymously reported being victims of extortion by this individual; however, these reports are not currently being investigated.
Source: Zeta Tijuana
Discover more from Cartel Insider
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.