Mexican National Guards patrol among the many lanes of automobiles coming into the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico, May 11, 2023. Montserrat Caballero, the mayor of the Mexican border metropolis of Tijuana, mentioned on June 12, 2023 she has determined to go stay at a military base for her personal security, after she obtained threats.

Gregory Bull/AP

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Gregory Bull/AP

Mexican National Guards patrol among the many lanes of automobiles coming into the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico, May 11, 2023. Montserrat Caballero, the mayor of the Mexican border metropolis of Tijuana, mentioned on June 12, 2023 she has determined to go stay at a military base for her personal security, after she obtained threats.

Gregory Bull/AP

MEXICO CITY — The mayor of the Mexican border metropolis of Tijuana mentioned she has determined to stay at a military base for her personal security, after she obtained threats.

Mayor Montserrat Caballero introduced the choice after confirming that police had discovered seven lifeless our bodies stuffed in a pickup truck on Monday.

Police mentioned they discovered the pickup truck parked at a fuel station in Tijuana with the doorways open; on the again seat of the cab lay a physique wrapped in a blanket. Hidden underneath tires and picket boards had been six extra our bodies.

“I have received threats, so I am going to live at the base,” Caballero mentioned. Local media reported the military base is on the southern fringe of Tijuana, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the town corridor.

Caballero didn’t say who the threats had come from. The Tijuana metropolis authorities mentioned in a press release the threats had been associated to her administration’s “strong results in weapons seizures and arrest of violent suspects.”

It is well-known that a number of drug cartels are waging turf battles in Tijuana, throughout the border from San Diego, California.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador mentioned the threats had been made by “organized crime groups,” a time period utilized in Mexico to confer with drug cartels. López Obrador mentioned the identical threats had been obtained concurrently in opposition to the governor of the border state of Baja California, a former governor and the mayor.

López Obrador mentioned the choice to maneuver the mayor to the military base had been made about two weeks in the past, “to protect her,” although he didn’t supply any extra particulars on the threats.

Killings in Tijuana have risen by about 9% within the final 12 months, in line with the federal public security division. Tijuana has extra homicides that another metropolis in Mexico, with 1,818 killings within the 12-month interval ending in May.

Caballero has acknowledged the cartels’ sturdy presence prior to now. In 2022, after gangs carjacked and burned at least 15 vehicles all through the town, Caballero made a direct public attraction to cease concentrating on civilians.

“Today we are saying to the organized crime groups that are committing these crimes, that Tijuana is going to remain open and take care of its citizens,” Caballero mentioned in a video in 2022, including “we also ask them to settle their debts with those who didn’t pay what they owe, not with families and hard-working citizens.”