Cartel violence in Tijuana continues at an alarming rate in 2018 with 549 homicides registered in the first three months, according to government statistics.

A total of 184 killings were noted in March alone, according to local reports.

Breitbart Texas previously reported that one of the problems cited by the state attorney general’s office of Baja California is that most homicides go unsolved. Of 132 registered homicides to start 2018, only five resulted in arrests with a total of 11 suspects detained.

The bloodshed continues despite the deployment of 400 elements of the Mexican Army there to crack down on cartel violence plaguing the once-popular tourist destination.

Tijuana sits on the U.S. border with California, approximately 17 miles south of San Diego. A brief look at both cities reveals that San Diego has a population of 1.4 million compared to Tijuana’s 1.8 million. In 2016 and 2017 respectfully, Tijuana finished with 910 and 1,734 homicides while San Diego registered 50 and 34 for each year in straight comparisons, local journalists found at the time.

The cartel violence in Tijuana has been attributed to a resurgence of remnants from the Cártel de Los Arellano Félix, which is now operating under the name of Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG) and aligns with El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. These two criminal groups are engaged in a turf dispute with the Sinaloa Cartel. In some areas, rival factions within the Sinaloa Cartel are fighting for control of the lucrative street-level markets and valuable routes leading into the United States.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)