Add The California Post on Google Federal officials issued a terrifying security alert Tuesday in the popular tourist destination of Mexicali over threats of vicious attacks by the Sinaloa drug cartel against local law enforcement.
US State Department officials, in an urgent warning, suspended government activities in Mexicali and called off official travel to the city for the day, urging American citizens to avoid government buildings and “seek shelter if an incident occurs.”
Sources with knowledge of the threat told The California Post that the State Department’s alert was based on messages from the Los Rusos faction of the Sinaloa cartel warning of bloodshed at law enforcement facilities.
“The Los Rusos faction has been on a rampage, as far as trying to find and execute people that work for state police agencies,” said Ed Calderon, a Texas-based security consultant and former law enforcement officer for Mexico’s Baja State Police.
Mexican federal and state forces, alongside the US Drug Enforcement Agency, have recently carried out high-profile raids in Mexicali, including the seizure of 120 kilograms of fentanyl pills from Los Rusos in August.
As revenge, Calderon said, the drug gang is targeting local law enforcement. American travelers and workers at US government buildings could become collateral victims in the conflict, he said, because American facilities tend to be located near Mexican ones.
In the alert issued Monday night, the US Embassy in Mexico urged US citizens to be aware of the potential threat and told Americans in Mexicali to “monitor local media for updates” and “notify friends and family of your safety in the event of an incident.”
Mexicali is the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California, located along the border just south of its US sister city, Calexico. The popular travel destination is known for its Chinese-Mexican food, desert adventures and medical tourism.
The Calexico-Mexicali border crossing sees more than 5.4 million personal vehicles each year, along with more than 3.1 million pedestrians, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Los Rusos have been in the crosshairs of authorities on both sides of the border, with the US Department of Justice and DEA offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of Juan José Ponce Félix, a.k.a. “El Ruso.”
Félix is wanted for trafficking large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin across the US-Mexico border, as well as coordinating violent attacks, kidnappings and weapons smuggling.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday said “there was an alert about the possibility of a criminal group” in Mexicali and that the report was based on information from US agencies.
“There is no further information about what this alert could involve, but simply to remain alert and maintain surveillance in Mexicali,” she said at her regular morning briefing with reporters.
