Alleged Arellano Félix Member ‘El Chino Mayor’ Shot on the Road to Playas de Tijuana, and a Court Frees 3 Ex-Soldiers Caught at a Tijuana Army Site in 2011: What Changed in Tijuana This Week
Two men were shot inside a gray pickup on the road into Playas de Tijuana on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. The Tijuana weekly Zeta identified one of them as José Antonio López Ramírez, 36, “El Chino Mayor,” whom it calls an alleged member of the Arellano Félix organization, the Tijuana Cartel. A day later, a federal court ordered three former soldiers freed after 15 years. Here is what changed this week in Tijuana, across from San Diego.
Oct. 13: Gunfire near La Cúspide
Zeta said the attack happened between 6:19 and 6:24 p.m. on the Calle Segunda extension near the La Cúspide subdivision. State agents found two wounded men in a gray pickup, and the attackers fled in a white sedan and on a motorcycle toward the Rosas Magallón bypass. El Imparcial said both men were inside a gray Dodge Ram and that both were reported in critical condition. According to Zeta, López Ramírez, from Jalisco, was hit in the right side. The other man, identified only as José Ignacio, was gravely wounded. Zeta’s headline calls López Ramírez a CAF “sicario.” Citing its own March 2024 reporting, it says he was linked to a cell led by “El Apache” that smuggled people around Mesa de Otay. He had no known criminal record, and no arrests were reported.
Oct. 14: Three ex-soldiers ordered freed
A federal appeals court in Mexico City unanimously overturned the 20-year organized crime and drug sentences of three former army maintenance workers, Zeta reported. Military police arrested them on Feb. 18, 2011, at an army training center in Tijuana. Officials said cocaine and meth were being moved from their official truck to a civilian car. The court found the arrests were arbitrary and noted likely torture. It said the remaining evidence did not prove the crimes, and it sent the torture complaints to federal prosecutors.
Oct. 15: Shooting at a plaza in El Lago
A 49-year-old man was shot in the chest, ear and foot at a shopping plaza on Bulevar Manuel J. Clouthier in the El Lago neighborhood around 9:18 p.m. on Oct. 15, AlfredoAlvarez.mx reporter Alejandra Guerra wrote on Oct. 16. Police found a rifle and a loaded magazine nearby. No arrests were reported.
Earlier this week, CBP said it found more than 100 pounds of fentanyl in a pickup at San Ysidro. For crossing conditions, see our Tijuana–San Diego safety page.
Sources
- Zeta Tijuana, “Balean a ‘El Chino Mayor’, sicario del CAF en ataque armado en Playas de Tijuana,” Oct. 13, 2026
- El Imparcial, “Ataque armado deja dos hombres heridos en la prolongación de la calle Segunda,” Oct. 13, 2026 (Photos: Courtesy / Border Zoom, via El Imparcial)
- Zeta Tijuana (Luis Carlos Sáinz), “Amparo y libertad a tres exmilitares por delincuencia organizada,” Oct. 14, 2026
- AlfredoAlvarez.mx (Alejandra Guerra), “Ataque armado en plaza comercial deja a un hombre herido en Tijuana; localizan arma larga,” Oct. 16, 2026
Reported Oct. 16, 2026, from the published sources above. The Narco Blog has not independently confirmed the details or reached Baja California authorities or the people named. Everyone mentioned is presumed innocent, and the outlets did not report any charges in the Oct. 13 shooting.