Julián Leyzaola Pérez (born February 27, 1960) is a former Mexican military officer and former police chief and public safety secretary of Ciudad Juárez,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He became the new top cop in Ciudad Juárez after serving as the state police chief of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, and is "credited with cleaning up

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

" from the drug violence. In the border city of Tijuana, Leyzaola launched "a crackdown on organized crime and police corruption," resulting in multiple assassination plots by the cartels. His law enforcement achievements cost him dearly as he was shot and paralyzed while returning from a trip in Mexico.

Career in Tijuana

Born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Leyzaola was appointed as the police chief of

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

on 10 December 2008, a city that was plagued with drug violence and base of the

Tijuana Cartel The Tijuana Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Tijuana'') or Arellano-Félix-Organization (Spanish: ''Organización Arellano Félix'', AFO) is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family, the ...

. He replaced Jesús Alberto Capella Ibarra and as top cop, he fought to dismantle the corruption inside the police forces, and appointed military commanders and added new patrol cars to his security strategy. In fact, Leyzaola mentioned that he rejected a "$80,000-a-week offer" from the

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...

drug kingpin

Joaquín Guzmán Loera Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...

, better known as ''El Chapo'', who wanted to make a deal with him. Leyzaola ran for mayor of Tijuana during the elections that took place on June 2, 2019. But Leyzaola, who represented the leftist

Party of the Democratic Revolution The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD, es, Partido de la Revolución Democrática, ) is a social democratic political party in Mexico. The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 1986 from the Institut ...

(PRD) could not compete with Gonzalez and his large coalition of parties. is running for mayor of Tijuana.

Work at Juárez

Just 48 hours after taking office, Leyzaola received a death threat by the drug cartels in Ciudad Juárez. And as of 2012, the

Juárez Cartel The Juárez Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Juárez''), also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, across the Mexico—U.S. border from El Paso, Texas. The cartel is one of ...

, who fights for the control of the

El Paso–Juárez El Paso–Juárez, also known as Juárez–El Paso, the Borderplex or Paso del Norte, is a transborder agglomeration, on the border between Mexico and the United States. The region is centered on two large cities: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexic ...

drug corridor with the

, threaten Leyzaola and promised to "kill a policeman a day."(in Spanish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyzaola, Julian Living people Mexican police officers Chiefs of police People from Culiacán People of the Mexican Drug War Military personnel from Sinaloa 1960 births

Career in Tijuana

Work at Juárez

See also

References