TIJUANATIJUANA — Tensions remained high in Tijuana on Monday, following last week’s capture of alleged drug-trafficker Octavio Leal Hernandez, also known as “Chapito Leal.”
Last week, authorities said they captured the leader of an unspecified organized crime organization after a shootout in downtown city streets between police and alleged cartel . Eight people were detained.
Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias de Tijuana, a Mexican news organization, reported Leal was a leader in the Arellano-Félix cartel and had also worked for the Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations.
A federal judge ordered Leal, and seven co-defendants, to be held in what’s known as “preventative prison” on Saturday. They’ll remain in custody in Tijuana, while prosecutors prepare a criminal case against them.
Leal is facing federal charges for allegedly carrying a firearm, and for possessing weapon loaders and cartridges that only of the Mexican Army are allowed to use, according to Mexico’s federal gun laws.
Prosecutors also charged Leal with a federal offense called “crimes against health,” which is related to the sale of drugs.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, where Leal remains in custody, was heavily guarded Monday by forces from Mexico’s Army, the National Guard and local police.
In the downtown business district known as Zona Río, where Leal was captured and held for several days, the mood remained tense, according to vendors, business owners and operators, and Tijuana police in the area.
Tijuana traffic police officer Carlos Ruíz-Coronado, 27, said people seemed alert and nervous walking around downtown city streets Monday.
Several people mentioned the violent clashes that erupted in Culiacán last October when government forces were forced to release Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as “El Chapo.”
“People are walking a little bit more alert right now… because it’s Tijuana,” said Ruíz-Coronado. “Ugly things can happen here.”
Several vendors and nearby businesses operators said they did not feel safe commenting on the mood or the shootout last week.
A young businessman, who declined to give his name, said he thought the worst of the situation had ed and business was slowly returning to normal.
