Faced with the presumption of the commission of crimes “against public health and violations of the Weapons and Explosives Law,” on Monday, August 4, a federal judge approved the request for three searches made in Tijuana by the Attorney General’s Office in file number FED/BC/TIJ/00002184/2025.
In the days prior, the intelligence department of the Baja California Citizen Security Secretariat had forwarded information to federal forces after detecting the presence in Tijuana of Alfonso Villa Briones, alias “Alfonso Flores Briones,” alias “Cabo 13,” an alleged operator of the Sinaloa Cartel, identified as a “priority target” since 2022, when the Ministry of National Defense published his photo on a “Wanted” poster designed to track murderers and traffickers. (He is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a judicial authority. Art. 13, CNPP).
Authorities at the Baja California Peace and Security Coordination Board had identified Villa Briones for three years as part of a cell serving the Zambada brothers, headed by brothers Alfonso and René Arzate GarcÃa, who operated directly with Rafael Yocupicio Yocupicio in a group that called itself Los Cabezones.
The FESC information was processed by members of the FGR (Federal Attorney General’s Office), who conducted surveillance and field work until they located three homes where the armed group led by Briones could presumably be hiding.
To reduce the possibility of a confrontation, the federal public prosecutor’s office decided to carry out this investigative phase in the early morning hours, starting at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6. To prevent information leaks, all three properties would be raided simultaneously. The operations were classified as “high risk” due to the alleged presence of armed individuals.
