“Narcomar” Reorganizes in Baja California: Cartel Clashes, Executions, and More

Seafood cart merchant Rubén Marín Villalobos became the first collateral fatality in the clashes between members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) over control of drug trafficking at the port, extortion of seafood, and extortion of grounds.

Unlike other intentional homicides committed in 2024 against merchants in the fishing sector, the murder of Martín Mauro Rodríguez Ramos, alias “El Sinaloa,” who was executed on his cart on Calzada Cortez, and that of CANAINPESCA president Minerva Pérez Castro outside her business in El Sauzal stand out. Marín’s crime was not directed at him, but at members of the criminal network operating behind the business where he was gunned down. Rubén Marín’s murder occurred on the morning of Monday, August 18, at the Mares del Pacífico fish market, formerly known as La Casita del Camarón, located on Pedro Loyola, between Guaymas and Estancia Boulevard, in the Acapulco neighborhood, two blocks from the municipal beach.

Three other victims were killed during the shooting: a 17-year-old boy, who was an unemployed worker; a female employee; and an adult man. All were shot but survived. Rubén Marín’s murder occurred on the morning of Monday, August 18, at the Mares del Pacífico fish market, formerly known as La Casita del Camarón, located on Pedro Loyola, between Guaymas and Estancia Boulevard, in the Acapulco neighborhood, two blocks from the municipal beach.

During the shooting, there were three other victims: a 17-year-old boy, who was a worker without benefits; a female employee; and an adult man. All were shot but survived. The packages had been thrown into the sea by the crew of a cargo ship that docked at the port. There is no further information from the authorities of the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), who are responsible for surveillance.

In the exchange of gunfire, two men were injured; they were hospitalized and taken into custody by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR). Another, Ricardo Humberto Balbuena Placier, was found dead, floating among the rocks.

IMPUNITY CLAIMS INNOCENT LIVES

Mares del Pacífico is a store popularly known as the only place to buy fish and seafood. According to reports from the State Investigation Agency, it is operated by Arturo Alejandro Hernández Medina, alias “El Tury,” identified as a member of the CDS and currently based outside of Ensenada.

According to authorities, El Tury controls the distribution of seafood products in the region, in addition to extorting the fishing, commercial, and industrial sectors.