Tijuana deaths linked to rising drug lord

TIJUANA, Mexico, July 8 (UPI) -- Police in Tijuana, Mexico, say a surge in violence in the border city has coincided with friction between drug lords and an upstart underling.

The San Diego Union-Tribune said Tuesday that law enforcement sources told the newspaper that the killings came at time when leaders of the Arellano Felix cartel have been reining in a crew leader identified as Teodoro "El Teo" Garcia Simental who has been growing in power.

Rivalry among smugglers is believed to be behind a string of gangland hits that the Los Angeles Times said boosted Tijuana's murder toll to more than 260 this year compared to 152 at this time last year.

Officials braced Tuesday for a possible new round of killings after a period of relative calm was shattered by the discovery of six charred corpses in the border city.

A total of 15 killings were reported over the weekend as drug-smuggling gangs battled for control of the turf once ruled by the Arellano Felix organization.

"We have to wait and see," Deputy Attorney General Salvador Ortiz Morales said at a Monday news conference. "Obviously, we are worried."