Too Old to Prosecute: Court Tosses ‘El Kado’s’ 2016 Tijuana Gun Case — but the Alleged Arellano Félix Boss, Caught With U.S. Help, Stays Jailed in Mérida
A federal appeals court in Tijuana, across from San Diego, has thrown out a 2016 gun case against Héctor Manuel Gil García, “El Kado,” whom Mexican authorities call a leader of the Arellano Félix organization, the Tijuana Cartel. The court found the time to prosecute had run out. He is still not going free: he remains in prison in Mérida, Yucatán, on federal organized-crime charges, the Tijuana weekly Zeta reported on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, 2026.
A pistol, a magazine and two bullets
According to Zeta, police stopped Gil García near Tijuana’s Chapultepec neighborhood in August 2016 and seized a handgun, a magazine and two cartridges. Prosecutors let him go because the charge did not carry mandatory pretrial detention at the time. He later skipped hearings, and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
That warrant was served in August 2026 inside the Mérida prison, where he was already being held. A judge ordered him to stand trial. His lawyers appealed, arguing that too much time had passed to prosecute. On Oct. 1, the appeals court for Mexico’s Fifteenth Circuit agreed, Zeta reported. It dismissed the case and ordered his release in that case only.
Arrested in Yucatán with U.S. information
Gil García, also called “Cazador,” was arrested in July 2026 in Valladolid, Yucatán, by the Navy, the SSPC, the FGR and Mexico’s intelligence center. Security chief Omar García Harfuch said the arrest came from “information exchange with U.S. agencies,” Excélsior reported on July 23. The federal Security Cabinet describes him as a top Arellano Félix leader in Tijuana, Tecate, the Valle de Guadalupe and Ensenada. It says he allegedly ran extortion and drug sales and fought the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Mayos faction over trafficking routes to the United States.
Zeta reports he was carrying a .380 pistol at the time, and that meth and marijuana were found in his vehicle. On July 30 a judge ordered him held for trial on drug and military-grade weapons charges brought by FEMDO, the federal organized-crime prosecutors’ unit. An appeals court in Mérida later upheld that order. Zeta says other alleged conduct, including cross-border drug trafficking and extortion, has not yet been charged. None of the allegations has been proven in court.
For conditions at the crossing, see our Tijuana–San Diego safety page.
Sources
- Zeta Tijuana (Luis Carlos Sáinz): “Tribunal revoca vinculación a proceso contra el Kado” (Oct. 6, 2026)
- Zeta Tijuana (Luis Carlos Sáinz): “El Kado seguirá recluido en reclusorio de Yucatán por otro proceso” (Oct. 7, 2026)
- Excélsior (David Vicenteño): “García Harfuch confirma detención de líderes de los Arellano Félix y del CJNG” (July 23, 2026)
- Photos: Secretaría de Marina / SSPC / FGR (Mexican federal government, Libre Uso MX), via Zeta Tijuana.
Reported Oct. 10, 2026, from Zeta Tijuana and Excélsior. The reports do not say how many years the court counted for the statute of limitations or when the Mérida appeal was decided. The Harfuch quote is translated from Spanish. Gil García has not been convicted in either case.