Tijuana's incoming mayor's plan to crack down on crime includes an ex police chief accused of torture

Ismael Burgueño will take office as Tijuana's new mayor on October 1, with one issue almost completely dominating the city's agenda: soaring levels of violence.

The municipality has recorded almost 1,000 homicides in the first half of the year, practically the same amount as in all of 2023. Most of the cases are related to drug trafficking but other cases like femicides have also seen a spike, with Tijuana recording 18 such crimes in the first half of the year, also almost twice as many as during all of 2023.

And citizens don't have their hopes up about the situation improving any time soon. According to the latest National Urban Public Safety Survey, released in June, 63% of respondents said they believe figures will either stay the same or get worse next year.

In that context, Burgueño said he plans to take a two-pronged approach to address the issue: developing a program aimed at young people to prevent them from joining criminal groups and beefing up security, especially by equipping the police department with more tools and technology.

This latter aspect also includes bringing back a controversial figure: retired Lt. Col. Julián Leyzaola, who oversaw a successful crackdown in Tijuana between 2008 and 2010 but also faced allegations that he used torture to achieve his goals.

In fact, the Baja California Attorney General's office charged him and his former deputy with alleged torture against two police officers. His deputy was arrested and released months later, but Leyzaola remained free. The attorney general said in June there was no pending case against him by the state and, since he hasn't been convicted, we wouldn't face any issues if he wanted to hold public office again.

The San Diego Union-Tribune recalled that Leyzaola survived an armed attack in 2015 that left him paralyzed from the waist down and later returned to Tijuana to run for what they ended up being unsuccessful bids for mayor.

Burgueño has dismissed the issue and put Leyzaola in a central place of his campaign, having him join campaign rallies. "He's coming to actually implement a security project." Burgueño told the outlet. He added that, according to the officer, there will be results in the first six months.

The incoming mayor has also touted the fact that he has allies in higher offices, including the Baja California Mayor and the office of incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum, something that could translate into more resources.