Mexican drug trafficking organization based in Tijuana, Baja California, founded in 1989 by the Arellano Félix brothers after the fragmentation of the Guadalajara Cartel. It was one of the largest and most violent cartels in Mexico during the 1980s and 1990s, but has been weakened by arrests and deaths of its leaders. Since 2014, it has allied with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), effectively merging into the Cártel de Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG).
CRIMENET has extracted 139 linkages for this organization, including 70 cooperative ties across 21 organizations, 61 conflicts across 10 organizations, 8 other connections and footprints in 2 countries.
In the 1990s, the Tijuana Cartel decided to expand their market opportunities in Colombia, exchanging drugs for weapons.
The Tijuana Cartel has infiltrated the Mexican law enforcement and judicial systems and is directly involved in street-level trafficking within the United States.