Tijuana Cartel (Arellano Félix Organization)

The Tijuana Cartel, formally the Arellano Félix Organization (AFO), controlled the Tijuana-San Diego corridor — the busiest land border crossing in the world. Led by the Arellano Félix siblings, nephews of Guadalajara Cartel boss Félix Gallardo, the organization was known for extreme violence in the 1990s, including the recruitment of San Diego gang members as cross-border hitmen.

The successive arrests and deaths of key brothers (Ramón killed 2002, Benjamín arrested 2002, Francisco Javier captured 2006, Eduardo arrested 2008) gradually dismantled the organization. Enedina Arellano Félix, one of few women to lead a major cartel faction, maintained reduced operations. By the 2010s, the Sinaloa Cartel had largely taken control of the Tijuana corridor.