2. Killing one of their own
If you thought that brutal killings were reserved only for their rivals or those who might’ve crossed them, you are wrong. Anyone who could pose a threat to Tijuana Cartel was better dead than alive, even if it was one of their own. Eduardo Arellano, dubbed “El Doctor” was the most reclusive of all Arellano brothers which could be the reason why he was captured the last. After being tipped off by a corrupt Mexican police officer, Eduardo fled with his wife Sonia and two children, to a safe house whose construction was not completely over and the house was not yet safe to live in. They used a propane tank for cooking, and one morning in 1998, the tank exploded leaving the whole family with severe burns. Eduardo’s infant son died despite the fact that the kids and his wife Sonia were sent over the border for treatment. She blamed Eduardo for the accident while his brothers believed that she was a danger for the cartel. In 2000, his brother Benjamin ordered her assassination while Javier gave the exact instructions. After being strangled, Sonia’s body was dissolved into “pozole”. They planned to tell Eduardo that she fled to U.S., but he never asked a single question about his wife’s disappearance. Unlike Eduardo, Sonia’s mother and sister started asking questions, and they were also killed by Benjamin. Now, let’s see the number one on our list of facts about Tijuana drug cartel violence: kidnappings and killings.
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