So, I live in San Diego, and frequent Tijuana and B.C. often. A few years ago, there was a similar cartel flare up. One of their top people was captured and they wanted him released. They vowed violence and set taxis on fire in many major cities including Tijuana and Ensenada. I was at a chill bar in Tijuana that night and all the lights came on. They took our bucket of beers and food away and kicked us all out. Everyone was panicking except for the locals. The food stalls didn’t close, but everything else did. We went home, no panic at the border crossing. The cartel released a statement explicitly saying they had no intention of hurting innocents or tourists, but the media spiral was already far gone. I dunno, I respect their candidness, and don’t ever really feel that scared as a respectful traveler, but who knows.