Baja California Sur: Tourist Mecca Becoming a Ticking Time Bomb

In three separate shootings registered in three of the five municipalities of Baja California Sur (Comondú, La Paz and Los Cabos), groups of assassins with machine guns, ie "Cuernos de Chivos" murdered 11 people, in a period of less than four hours last Friday August 25.

This week there have been countless murders up and down the entirety of the Baja Peninsula, in both states. Today, Sept 1, 2017 Tropical Storm Lidia is literally putting a damper on violence while much of BCS experiences the most rain they have had in one storm in nearly a century. 6 deaths have already been reported. State of Emergency just declared for all 5 Municipalities of BCS.

The predicted uptick in violence due to the splintering of factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, the arrests of key players and the rise of power of CJNG are all factors as rivals battle for power and plazas.

The first firefight on Aug 25th was occurred in the center of Ciudad Constitución, Municipality of Comondu,  left a total of two men dead and two women injured. According to the information gathered, the shooting was at 4:30 pm, outside the bus terminal of the Aguila Transport, when an armed group in a red pickup truck approached the newly arrived Aguila Bus as passengers were getting off. One of the dead men had just gotten and may have been "collateral damage". 

Minutes later between 5:15 and 5:50 in Colonias Vista Hermosa and Santa Rosa in San José del Cabo, there were two shootings, nearly simultaneous attacks, with a total of four dead male victims. The multiple detonations of firearms, generated a strong mobilization of police and military forces, in the communities of San Jose del Cabo.

The residents of Colonia Santa Rosa were alerted by the sounds of more gunfire in the vicinity of the Pantheon, leaving one  person dead and two others injured. 6 others were injured , 2 gravely and 4 less so. The events took place in the vicinity of the commercial establishment ''MiniSuper Sinaloa'' which caused a nervous breakdown among several people nearby in the neighborhood who were attended to by the Red Cross.

In La Paz, the capital of the state, near 7pm a shooting was recorded in Colonia Camino Real, which left two people dead. Minutes later at 7:28 pm, behind the CERESO Prison of La Paz, another person was assassinated by bullets, it is presumed that the man was a custodian at the facility who worked for the Sub Secretary of Public Security of the State.




In yet another nearly simultaneous attack in Colonia Arco Iris #3 in La Paz a man was assassinated by gunshots and two others were wounded by bullets. The dead man is also thought to belong to security forces but his identity is  yet to be confirmed or which agency he worked with.

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Two additional men were murdered in Colonia Las Garzas, La Paz while traveling in a vehicle which was intercepted by an armed group. One died instantly as the result of multiple gunshots and a minor was taken to the Salvatierra Hospital where he also succumbed to his wounds while being attended to.

Another man was wounded as he drove through Colonia Las Tunas. He was wounded in the left hand after temporarily avoiding his persuers, who ultimately managed to board his vehicle in what might have been an attempted car jacking. That man was identified as Jose Alberto, 23, originally from Mazatlan, Sinaloa.

evacuated by  Red Cross paramedics. The repeated spurts of gunfire drew the attention of security elements to the streets of Puerta Plata and Puerta Escondida and still the number of people involved or wounded is unknown and there were no detentions although witnesses saw one man jump a rear fence and escape through the neighborhood. PGR is investigating the incident.