Threats prompt Tijuana mayor to move to military base

Montserrat Caballero knew becoming mayor of Tijuana, in Baja California, Mexico, on the US border, in 2021 came with a heavy cost.

“This seat is not just photo ops,” she said. “In a city like Tijuana, and in a country like Mexico, elected officials understand the risks that this seat carries.”

She should know. Caballero, her son, dog and two ferrets are moving into military barracks following multiple death threats. The decision came at the suggestion of the Mexican National Guard.

In recent weeks, Caballero has received threatening voicemails telling her that “they are going to kill my family unless I stop working,” she said.

Last month, a member of the mayor’s security detail was shot at in downtown Tijuana while scouting a location for an official event. The bodyguard suffered minor injuries and Caballero canceled the event.

The mayor’s move renews focus on Tijuana’s security situation and the state of Mexican democracy.

“I think it raises more interesting questions about the quality of democracy in Mexico and who is running for office,” said Cecilia Farfan, head of research at the Center for US and Mexican Studies at UC San Diego.

People who want to run for public office in Mexico could reconsider if they know being elected comes with death threats, she added.

The situation also casts doubt on elected officials who aren’t being threatened — are they in cahoots with criminal organizations?

In February, the former Secretary of Public Safety Genaro Garcia Luna was convicted of taking bribes from the Sinaola Cartel. In 2020, the former governor of Veracruz was barred from entering the United States because of a corruption scandal connected to the Cartel Jalisco New Generation.

Caballero is framing the death threats as a direct response to her administration’s efforts to combat crime.

“If I had a connection with narcos, they wouldn’t be after me,” she said.

Tijuana’s Municipal Police have confiscated 1,700 guns and arrested more than 60 murder suspects, the mayor added.

More than 2,000 people were murdered in Tijuana last year. And 769 people have been murdered in the first five months of this year.

The mayor has publicly criticized Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila and State Attorney General Ivan Carpio for not doing enough to combat organized crime. Roughly 30% of the murder suspects arrested by Tijuana police have been released, she said.

The public spat could embolden criminal organizations.

“There is this context of uncertainty with both sides accusing each other of not really coordinating, of not really paying attention to what’s happening with security,” Farfan said.

Caballero’s move to the military barracks also has implications for Tijuana’s tourism and business. Public and private boosters have invested millions in the city’s commercial sector. The mayor being forced to live on a military base could scare off investors and tourists.

“Unfortunately, Tijuana is part of the border narrative that is always cast in this perpetual zone of crisis,” Farfan said.

More than 2 million people live in Tijuana. The vast majority have no interaction with crime. Still, people may be on the fence about visiting the city.

“We know the border is more than just stories of perpetual crisis that we hear in the big national news,” Farfan said. “I think the decision to visit ultimately goes to individual levels of comfort. Do you feel comfortable in this space?”

Caballero is trying to project strength.

“I’m not afraid,” she said. “Today, I was in the streets — I had another event — and I’m here in my office.”

Caballero said US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar suggested she live in San Diego. However, the mayor said she thought it was important for her to stay in Tijuana.

She wants people to believe that Tijuana is still safe and said those who don’t go looking for trouble won’t find any.

Most homicides in Tijuana are connected to drug sales, she added.

However, experts said that is an oversimplification that minimizes violent crime in Mexico as something that only happens to bad people.

“When you turn it into just, ‘Oh, it’s criminals killing each other,’ then unfortunately, there is no incentive to really address the issue,” Farfan said.

The mentality perpetuates the idea that as long as violent crime is confined to poor neighborhoods and doesn’t impact the wealthy tourist areas, then it is under control, she said.

An earlier version of this story was originally published by KPBS Public Media.