Barrูn was soon wanted on both sides of the border for a number of brutal crimes. According to San Diego police, Barrูn recruited Logan 30s street gang members as gatilleros (hired killers) for the Arellanos. Years later, indictments filed by U.S. Attorneys in San Diego would state that Barrูn enlisted โhenchmen from among Logan Heights gang members ... who were then directed to murder and kidnap rivals in order to secure and maintain the Arellanosโ control over drug trafficking along the border.โ Barrูn and associates were also wanted for the killings of two federal prosecutors and, most notably, for the assassination of Cardinal Juan Jesูs Posadas-Ocampo on May 24, 1993 in Guadalajara.
The killing of the cardinal, a crime that shocked the world and turned a harsh media spotlight on the Mexican cartels, was actually a mistake. According to accounts later obtained by authorities, Barrูn and his San Diego Logan 30s henchmenโalong with Ramูn Arellano-Fรฉlix himselfโwere at the Guadalajara airport to kill rival Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquูn โEl Chapoโ Guzmูn-Loera. The cardinal, sitting in a car in front of Guzmูnโs armored Buick, was mistaken for the crime boss. The gang opened fire, killing the cardinal, his driver and six others in a hail of bullets.
The attempt on Guzmูn-Loera was believed to be in retaliation for an attempted 1993 hit on Ramูn and Javier Arellano-Fรฉlix at the disco Christine in Puerto Vallarta. Guzman had sent 40 gunmen into the nightclub, where the Arellano brothers were having a party. Nine people died in the wild shootout that ensued. Davูd Barrูn reportedly killed a number of Guzmanโs henchmen before saving the Arellanos by spiriting them away.