U.S. citizen killed in Los Cabos gun battle, seven others wounded

A California man was killed and seven other people were wounded when soldiers exchanged gunfire with a convoy of armed civilians on the Transpeninsular Federal Highway north of Los Cabos, turning a busy corridor near San José del Cabo into a crossfire zone.

The confrontation began around 11 p.m. Saturday and continued after midnight near Santa Anita and the Costa Dorada neighborhood, according to the Baja California Sur State Attorney General's Office. Mexico’s army had responded to reports of gunfire on the highway when troops encountered the convoy, and the armed group opened fire, setting off an intense gun battle.

The American victim was a 31-year-old man from California. Authorities did not release his name. He was caught in the crossfire and died at the scene, underscoring how quickly cartel-related violence can spill from a targeted confrontation into a danger for travelers, residents and people passing through one of Mexico’s best-known resort corridors.

Seven others were injured. Five were civilians traveling on the highway, including a 35-year-old man, a 43-year-old woman from Los Cabos, a 14-year-old boy from San José del Cabo and a 65-year-old woman who suffered serious leg injuries. Two Mexican soldiers were also wounded. One soldier, 20, was reported in serious condition with life-threatening gunshot wounds, while the other, 25, had injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Authorities seized four vehicles, five long guns or rifles, loaded magazines in 7.62×39 and 5.56 caliber, a grenade launcher attachment with a grenade, tactical gear and spent shell casings. State police also reportedly arrested two suspects in San José del Cabo and raided a cartel safe house, where they seized additional weapons, drugs and tactical gear.

By early Sunday, Baja California Sur Governor Víctor Manuel Castro and Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez were leading an extraordinary meeting of the Regional Security Council. The council agreed to strengthen the operational presence of the Navy, the National Guard and local security agencies. The state Security Council said Monday that it was maintaining search and surveillance operations in the area, with a special focus on tourist corridors and high-traffic visitor zones.

The shooting comes against a backdrop of rising cartel-linked violence in Baja California Sur, a state that depends heavily on tourism and draws large numbers of American visitors. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a security alert for Los Cabos and La Paz on April 25, 2025, after reporting violence that included a shootout spreading through several neighborhoods in Cabo San Lucas, buses set on fire in La Paz and Los Cabos, and the killing of a law enforcement officer and three other homicides. The embassy advised travelers to avoid crowds, monitor local media and follow instructions from local authorities, a warning that now reads as a blunt reminder of how exposed bystanders can be when organized-crime violence erupts near a major resort gateway.