In this episode of the “Border City” podcast from our sister paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, longtime U.S.-Mexico border reporter Sandra Dibble brings us to an awful time for Tijuana: the three-year window from 2008 to 2010. Cartels ramped up violence to horrifying levels, targeting cops and doctors. Police tried to purge traitors from their ranks — and went too far. But through it all, the spirit of Tijuana stayed alive. In the darkness, there were still sparkles of music and art and joy.

Read the full transcript here.

Host: Sandra Dibble

More reading:

Must Reads: Meth and murder: A new kind of drug war has made Tijuana one of the deadliest cities on Earth

Images from the front lines of Tijuana’s deadly drug war

Reporter’s Notebook: Behind the story: How The Times reported on Tijuana’s massive rise in homicides