The U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana has issued a security alert warning travelers to take extra precautions in Mexicali, the Valley of Mexicali, and the western part of the state of Sonora, citing a heightened risk of violence between rival cartel factions.

The alert, issued Friday, also warned members of the embassy community to avoid Mexicali until further notice.

The area is caught in the midst of a territorial dispute between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). At the beginning of April, the CJNG released messages threatening increased violence in Baja California.

A video circulated on social media April 1 showed more than a dozen hooded individuals with various large-caliber weapons and bulletproof vests bearing the CJNG initials.

“This announcement is to inform the general population of Baja California that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is present in their state and to let them know that the deaths that have been occurring are due to internal corruption within the police forces at every level of the government,” said a speaker in the video. The speaker went on to name the federal, state and municipal police forces as well as various security and investigative units of government.

The next day, the CJNG torched the vehicle of an official from the state Attorney General’s Office in Tecate, in reprisal for a police operation that led to various arrests. On April 8 in Tijuana, the cartel burned two vehicles belonging to the federal Attorney General’s Office.

Sources: Infobae (sp)