Mexico president urges ‘calm’ after weekend of violence sparked by cartel leader’s arrest

Cartel leaders in Mexico’s border towns set up roadbloacks, hijarcked and torched more than two dozen vehicles in a weekend of chaos where the United States warned citizens in the country to shelter in place. 

The violence unfolded across the Pacific coast state of Baja California as the country’s most powerful cartel sought the release of one of its high ranking leaders. Chaos unfolded in the cities of Ensenada, Mexicali, Rosarito, Ensenada and Tecate.

Mexico President André Manuel López Obrador is now trying to reassure residents that there is calm in the wake of the violence. 

‘I want to tell the people of Mexico to be calm, that there is governability, there is stability,’ López Obrador said during Monday’s press briefing at the National Palace in Mexico City.

The leftist leader minimized the wave of attacks in Baja California and previously in the central state of Guanajuato, saying it was an interest of our adversaries, the conservatives, to magnify things, to do tabloid, sensational journalism.’

López Obrador said a full report would be released Monday at noon to provide an update on casualty and arrest figures.

Still image from a video recorded by a motorist shows the moment a bus is set on fire in Baja California during the weekend

Mexican security forces stand guard at Tijuana International Airport on Saturday in response to a wave of attacks launched by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel

At least one person – a bus driver – was injured during an attack in Mexicali.

At least 17 people had been apprehended in connection to the road blockades and vehicle burnings that took place in Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada on Friday, according to Baja California state security department.

Three of the suspects – including a woman – were identified as members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The onslaught was ordered by the cartel following last Tuesday’s arrest of Ricardo Ruiz, who is also known as ‘Doble R’ (‘Double R’) or ‘The YouTuber’, in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

He is said to be the creator of propaganda video that is uploaded across different social media platforms, and is being investigated for the 2012 murder of Venezuelan model Daisy Ferrer and 2013 killing of José de Jesús, the former Jalisco state tourism secretary.

Ruiz’s apprehension touched off a series of gun battles in Jalisco, spreading out to Baja California and Guanajuato, three of the 32 states where the cartel has a large presence.

In response to a wave of violence during the weekend following last Tuesday’s arrest of a Jalisco New Generation Cartel high-ranking member, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared before the press Monday and said he wanted ‘the people of Mexico to be calm, that there is governability, there is stability

A convoy of three hundred military troops joined the elements of Mexico’s National Guard at the Tijuana International Airport on Saturday

Firefighters work at the scene of a burnt collective transport vehicle after it was set on fire in Tijuana on Friday

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel issued a curfew for Tijuana on Friday and warned that they did not want to harm civilians because the war was against the government. 

‘Let them fight it out among themselves, but leave us alone,’ said Tijuana resident Blanca Estela Fuentes, as she looked for some means of public transport. ‘So they kill each other, they can do whatever they want, but the public, why are we to blame?’ 

A video recorded by the assailants shows them dressed in military gear when they set fire to an Oxxo convenience store in Guanajuato. 

A total of 25 Oxxo shops had been totally or partially torched since Tuesday.

A motorist stuck in traffic captured the moment an individual set a bus on fire in Baja California.

Footage showed traffic at a standstill as smoke from a burning vehicle hovered down the road.

People look at a burnt transport vehicle after it was set on fire by unidentified individuals in Tijuana on Friday

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana instructed its employees ‘to shelter in place until further notice’ around midnight because of late Friday’s violence.

Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean cancelled Sunday’s schedule stops in Ensenada.

However, the violent atmosphere fell short of stopping thousands of concertgoers from attending the weekend Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito.

‘I left Baja Beach Fest about an hour ago,’ tweeted Remezcla music editor Alexis Hodoyán on Saturday. ‘There was no signal. Festival goers probably don’t know what’s happening.’