The Avenida Revolucion ambush occurred in early 1989 when Sinaloa Cartel members Joaquin Guzman Loera, Hector Luis Palma Salazar, and a few other hitmen ambushed Tijuana Cartel leaders Benjamin and Ramon Arellano Felix as they drove down Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico in a bulletproof sedan. The Sinaloa hitmen followed the car as it left a gas station, and they attempted to cut off the vehicle's escape and ambush it with AK-47 assault rifles and handguns. The vehicle's bulletproof glass saved its occupants from injury, and they managed to speed away after coming under heavy fire. The Arellano Felix brothers swore vengeance, starting a war between the two gangs.
The shooting was carried out in response to the Arellano Felix brothers' refusal to work with Guzman before he became a boss, as well as because of Ramon Arellano Felix's murder of Rayo Lopez for being sent to Ismael Zambada Garcia's birthday party as Guzman's representative (while highly intoxicated). General Eugenio Blanco warned Guzman against further mistakes, threatening to lock him up if he disturbed the order again. However, Guzman instead allied with Zambada against the Tijuana Cartel, and the Tijuana Cartel responded to the ambush with the Guadalajara safehouse bombing.