Savage Figure Lurks Behind Tijuana Killings

Many of the charred and maimed victims of Tijuana’s recent drug violence bear one similarity: the three-letter marker of Teo Garcia Simental, a shadowy crime boss authorities fear too much to hunt, the Los Angeles Times reports. A kidnapper and extortionist, Garcia operates a network that keeps victims caged until he’s ready to fry them in vats of chemicals, his preferred method of murder.

Little is known about the chubby-cheeked, mid-30s Garcia beside his affinity for clandestine horse races and sadistic killing tactics. His rise resulted from Mexico’s drug crackdown, which sent cartels splintering. Thousands of police have failed to find him, though he adeptly tracks and targets them. “There’s no future” in being the brave soul to hunt Garcia, one officer says. (More drug cartel stories.)