Only two months after the disappearance and murder of three foreign tourists on the beaches of Ensenada, Baja California, the state is once again under public scrutiny for having been the scene of a new heinous crime: the femicide of Paola Andrea Bañuelos Flores in Mexicali.
On July 8, the 23-year-old university student left a club and took a ride on the Didi app to her home, located just three kilometers away. Staff at the establishment stated that they saw her board the vehicle, however, the young woman never arrived at her destination. Three days later, her body was found in the Oasis Campestre neighborhood.
The femicide of the young woman, sister, daughter and future graduate in Education Sciences from the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC), was spread nationally and even internationally, because unlike other cases, the alleged murderer was quickly identified.
Less than 24 hours after the location of Bañuelos Flores’ lifeless body, the driver of the Didi, the only suspect so far, turned himself in to the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Sonora.
According to data from the National Citizen Observatory (ONC), in the first half of 2024 Baja California registered 18 femicides. Meanwhile, a recent report from the Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SNSP) highlighted that four municipalities in this entity are among the top 100 in the country in terms of this crime.
With only seven municipalities, Baja California has historically been one of the most violent entities in the country, since due to its approximately 276 kilometers of border that it shares with the United States, it has become a crucial area for drug trafficking.
From the CJNG to the Sinaloa Cartel
According to an analysis carried out at the beginning of 2024 by journalist Ioan Grillo, an expert in security and drug trafficking, the entity is disputed by three criminal organizations:
The Arellano Félix Cartel (CAF)
The Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG)
The Sinaloa Cartel
Although the CAF, also known as the Tijuana Cartel, has been established in the state since at least 1980, it is noteworthy that currently the cities of Mexicali and Tecate ‘belong’ to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Although the cartel was created by the brothers Benjamín, Ramón, Francisco Javier, Rafael and Eduardo, the organization passed into the hands of the only woman in the family: Enedina, this after the first ones were killed or captured by the authorities.
In February 2024, Semanario Zeta revealed that drug trafficking activities, led by this criminal group, were the main motive for the armed attacks that occurred in the first weeks of the year in the port of Ensenada.
For their part, various journalistic reports and reports from state authorities refer to the fact that two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel operate in Baja California: that of Los Chapitos and that of Ismael ‘El Mayo Zambada; the latter identified as ‘Los Rusos’.
According to the available data, this criminal cell operated in Sinaloa, but, as a result of the conflict with the sons of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, it was displaced to Baja California and the limits of Sonora.
According to what was revealed by a hitman belonging to the ranks of ‘El Mayo’ in February of this year, in this entity the criminal group charges a fee to businessmen, fishermen, merchants and pharmacies in the area.
Little is known about the presence of the well-known four-letter cartel. Journalist Oscar Balderas revealed that it entered this territory approximately five years ago; a situation that intensified the violence in the region.
Source: infobae
