Tecate mayor cites crime and homicide challenge
Original reporting: El Sol de Tijuana
What happened
El Sol de Tijuana reports that Mayor Román Cota Muñoz attributes Tecate’s crime increase and 2026 homicide rise to disputes among criminal groups. He cited more than 25 new patrol units in two years and planned surveillance-camera expansion while describing security as a national issue.
Reporting and context
Public safety is the biggest challenge facing Tecate during the first two years of his administration, Mayor Román Cota Muñoz said, according to El Sol de Tijuana. He attributed a recent rise in crime to the activity and territorial disputes of criminal groups operating in the municipality.
Cota Muñoz acknowledged that those clashes have contributed to an increase in intentional homicides during 2026. He rejected the idea that municipal institutions have been inactive as Tecate has recorded one of the state’s higher homicide rates, surpassing Mexicali and Ensenada. “The problem facing the municipality of Tecate in security matters is not a local issue; it is a national security issue,” he said, according to the report.
El Sol de Tijuana reports that the mayor highlighted the addition of more than 25 patrol units over the past two years, improved medical benefits for officers, and purchases of weapons, ammunition and bulletproof vests. The municipal government is also planning to expand its surveillance-camera network.
Cota Muñoz said the upgraded equipment has helped the Municipal Police capture high-priority figures considered to be generating violence in the area. He described the strategy as a phased effort involving containment, control and consolidation. The mayor’s comments describe the municipality’s response and official assessment; the report does not provide an independent homicide count or identify the criminal groups involved by name.