Through his brother Benjamín, Francisco Rafael joined the Tijuana Cartel in 1989 following the arrest of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, one of the most prominent drug czars in Mexico during the 1980s.

[7] Francisco Rafael grew up in a modest house in Miguel Hidalgo St. #566 in Culiacán, blocks away from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, and lived there for about 20 years.

Neighbors recall that the Arellano Félix brothers were "cheerful boys" without addictions and inclined to selling clothes, licor, and candy that they brought illegally from the United States.

With an estimated US$5 million investment to build it, "Frankie Oh" had the capacity to host 2,500 people; it had an internal waterfall and a large dance floor surrounded by a fish tank.

[9] The disco hosted several famous Mexican and international artists, including but not limited to Luis Miguel, Emmanuel, Mijares, and Nelson Ned, Ricardo Montaner, among others.

Francisco Rafael lived most of his early life as a businessman and playboy while his brothers, Benjamín and Ramón, became involved in the drug trade after moving to Tijuana in the 1980s.

[17] With the leadership void open, Benjamín started to work full-time with his uncle Labra Avilés; Francisco Rafael, Ramón, and Javier later join them in Tijuana.

[15][18] In December 1989, the Arellano Félix ordered their gunmen to decimate the Machi Ramírez, a once-prominent crime family that controlled the drug trade in Tijuana prior to their arrival.

The antagonism lasted for several years and was accompanied by violent acts in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca.

[24][25] In September 1992, the Tijuana Cartel ordered another hit against their rivals; in Iguala, Guerrero, lawyers of Félix Gallardo and several of his family members were kidnapped and killed by gunmen.

"El Güero" Palma responded to the attacks by ordering several of his men to kill eight members of the Arellano Félix organization at the Christine discothèque in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.

[27] The rivalry reached its apex on 24 May 1993 when gunmen affiliated with the Tijuana Cartel attempted to kill "El Chapo" Guzmán in the Guadalajara International Airport.

[28] In the raging fire, gunmen shot a luxurious vehicle thought to hold Guzmán; however, among those aboard was the Roman Catholic Cardinal, Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, who was killed at the scene, along with six other civilians.

[29][A 2] On 4 December 1993, Francisco Rafael was arrested by the Federal Judicial Police (PJF) in Tijuana for charges on drug trafficking, illegal use of weaponry under Mexican law, and complicity in the murder of Posadas Ocampo.

In his testimony, he admitted to selling about 250 grams of cocaine to a supplier who negotiated with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in an unnamed motel in San Diego in 1980.

[44] Francisco Rafael was celebrating his 64th birthday along with his wife, children, and friends at Ocean House, a beachfront banquet hall owned by Hotel Marbella in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur on 18 October 2013.

[45][46][A 4] There were about 80 to 100 attendees at the party, including prominent businessmen, politicians, celebrities, and sport figures such as former Mexican footballer Jared Borgetti and professional boxer Omar Chávez.

When the clown was about 1 m (3.3 ft) close, he pulled out a pistol from his costume and shot him point-blank in his head and then several times more as he fell to the ground, killing him on the scene.

As the former drug lord lay dead near the entrance, the assassin ran through a rear exit while the attendees yelled, fell to the ground, and hid under the tables.

[44][A 6] The autopsy revealed that Francisco Rafael died of severe traumatic brain injury from shots in the thorax and head with a FN Five-seven pistol.

[54][55] Roughly twenty-four hours after the death of Francisco Rafael, the Mexican federal police arrested Manuel Aguirre Galindo (alias "El Caballo" – "The Horse"), a founder of the Tijuana Cartel and a high-ranking leader and money launderer who had been a fugitive for more than 20 years, in Mexico City.

"El Chapo" was nearly captured by the Mexican federal police in Los Cabos in March 2012, after an anonymous call informed the DEA that the drug lord was possibility hiding in three properties.

Investigators allege that Francisco Rafael, although he was no longer involved in organized crime, might have tipped the authorities to his whereabouts and incurred "El Chapo's" wrath.

[44][61] According to the Mexican authorities, the murder plot was possibly carried out with the collaboration of the Tijuana Cartel because no security measures were taken during the party and because the entrances were open to the public (when they are usually closed for private events).

As the film progresses, the camera turns to the sides and shows former footballer Jared Borgetti sitting at a table with Rocío del Carmen Lizárraga, wife of Francisco Rafael.

Towards the last seconds of the video, a bald-looking man passes through the back of the tables in front of the camera and apparently gives a hand signal to the assassin before walking away.

[64] The Baja California Sur authorities believe that the bald-looking man that appeared on the video shortly before the clown and apparently gave him a hand signal is involved in the murder plot.

The agency revealed through several photographs that Francisco Rafael and Aréchiga Gamboa met at the fight promotion event of boxers Omar Chávez and Joachim Alcine in Los Cabos two days prior to the murder.