ZETA reports escalating cartel violence in Tecate

Reporting and context

Three people found dead in Tecate's La Sierrita neighborhood on October 14 are at the center of a new escalation in the fight between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to ZETA Tijuana. The victims were two men and a woman; two had been beheaded, the outlet's detailed account of the scene reported.

Residents alerted authorities after finding bodies on a dirt road at 12:47 p.m. Municipal police initially received a report of two victims, then found a third while searching the area. All three had been bound and showed signs of torture.

Federal investigators told ZETA that a video of the killings circulated that afternoon and reached a phone seized by authorities during an earlier arrest. They said the recording included threats against the Sinaloa Cartel. Messages accompanying it were purportedly signed by Ricardo López, known as El Chicho, whom investigators identify as a CJNG gunman operating in Tecate. That attribution does not establish who carried out the killings.

ZETA Tijuana reported that attacks on suspected CJNG drug-selling sites followed the video's circulation, with both sellers and users targeted, particularly around the Tecate River. Its account places the violence in a wider territorial dispute that intensified after the September 29 killing of Marco Antonio Salceda, known as El Many, in Nueva Hindú, and the October 3 killing of Edwin Alberto Salazar, known as El Pálido, in downtown Tecate. Authorities identified both men as CJNG members, the report said.

The subsequent attacks included gunfire at homes in several neighborhoods and an October 17 assault on municipal police and National Guard personnel in Luis Echeverría, also known as El Hongo. Armed occupants of a pickup escaped after firing at officers and scattering tire spikes that damaged police vehicles, according to the account.

On October 19, a clash attributed to the two cartels lasted about 30 minutes near Nueva Hindú. Authorities deployed personnel but reported no arrests. ZETA put Tecate's toll so far in 2026 at 153 homicides and more than 100 disappearances in its reporting on the dispute.

Investigators cited by the outlet estimated that the Sinaloa Cartel controlled about 90 percent of criminal activity in the urban area, while Nueva Hindú remained a CJNG stronghold. These were intelligence assessments attributed to investigators. They warned that continued fighting could drive killings and disappearances higher during the final two months of the year.

Business owners and shopkeepers also told ZETA that insecurity had reduced tourist visits to areas that previously drew a steady flow of people.

Original reporting: ZETA Tijuana.