(NewsNation) — Tijuana has become a battleground for two powerful cartels that are trying to make as much money smuggling humans as they can. Armed “narco-coyotes” are killing migrants if they don’t pay a tax to cross into the U.S. or for paying the wrong cartel. 

The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Criminal Group are the main groups running the Tijuana border. These criminal organizations are engaged in a fierce struggle for control over human smuggling territory, reaping immense profits, possibly reaching the hundreds of thousands of dollars from smuggling migrants into the U.S. 

Victor Clark, the Director of the Center Binational of Human Rights introduced the “narco-coyotes” term for these perpetrators. 

“Those that are linked to drug organizations are using guns, machines. They are killing people, committing atrocities with migrants,” Clark said. 

The outskirts of Tijuana saw the discovery of six lifeless bodies, prompting a heart-wrenching search by a father for his missing son. 

Eddie Carrillo, founder of the ‘We Are All Erick Carrillo’ foundation, embarked on a mission to locate missing persons in Mexico after his own son went missing three years ago.  

Carrillo made a gruesome discovery when he stumbled upon four migrant men who had been executed, shot in the head execution-style near the border in Tijuana. 

They were wearing shirts, camouflage so as not to be detected by immigration or the helicopter,” Carrillo said. 

Mexican authorities face significant challenges in combating these killings, as they occur in remote, rugged areas along the border, making access difficult. The mountainous regions of Tijuana and Tecate are particularly challenging for law enforcement to reach.  

The ongoing humanitarian crisis at the border has stretched resources thin in cities like Tijuana, which are already grappling with the daily arrival of thousands of migrants. 

“This is a new method of the new generation at least in this part of the border,” said Clark. 

The U.S.-Mexico border has earned the distinction of being labeled the world’s deadliest migration route by the United Nations. Alarming data from the U.N.’s Migration Agency reveals last year alone, over 1,400 migrants met a tragic fate, either perishing or vanishing during their treacherous journeys. 

Nearly 700 of those deaths were individuals attempting the perilous voyage from Mexico to the United States.