Mexican Cartel

From family empire to fractured cells, a Baja California power struggle defined by blood and territory.

The Tijuana Cartel, formally known as the Cártel de Tijuana or formerly the Arellano-Félix Cartel (CAF), is a Mexican criminal organization based in Tijuana, Baja California. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family after Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo's 1989 arrest, it once stood as one of Mexico's largest and most violent groups. While reduced to a few cells following the 2006 Sinaloa Cartel incursion and the fall of the Arellano-Félix brothers, the group has shown resilience. By June 2020, it rebranded as Cartel Tijuana Nueva Generación in an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel before reverting to its original identity after that pact collapsed.

Quick Facts

Region: Mexico
Status: Active

Lore & Background

The organization's roots trace back to 1989 when Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo was arrested for his role in the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena. While incarcerated, he maintained control via mobile phone until his transfer to a maximum-security prison in the 1990s, causing his empire to fracture into three factions: Tijuana, Juarez, and Sinaloa. The Tijuana faction was led by Gallardo's nephews, the Arellano-Félix brothers. The group is notorious for extreme violence, including a mass murder of 18 people in Ensenada on September 17, 1998, ordered by Ramón Arellano Félix. By January 2007, Mexican army troops intervened to restore order and root out corrupt police officers cooperating with the cartel. Conflicts between factions led by Teodoro García Simental (who favored kidnappings) and Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano (focused on drug trafficking) fueled violence in 2008.

Reader's Guide

To understand the Tijuana Cartel's current state, note its shifting alliances and leadership changes. The organization consists of seven brothers and four sisters, with Alicia and Enedina being the most active female members. Key figures include Javier Arellano Félix (captured August 2006), Benjamín Arellano Félix (captured March 9, 2002; extradited April 29, 2011), Eduardo Arellano Félix (captured October 26, 2008; extradited August 31, 2012), and Ramón Arellano Félix (killed February 10, 2002).

Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano took over after the brothers' arrests but was himself arrested in June 2014. The cartel infiltrates law enforcement and judicial systems while trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine. As of November 2020, emissaries from the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel attempted to form an alliance with the resurgent Tijuana Cartel, though Mexicali and Rosarito remain known Sinaloa outposts in Baja California.