And with his disappearance, a promising window into the inner workings of one of After a long period of few consequences, the narcojuniors were about to discover that U.S. prosecutors couldnt care less about their fathers, wives, friends or family connections. For half an hour, the agent described the American imprisoned in Guadalajara. ''It was just a usual-suspects thing,'' a United States official in Guadalajara said, just another of the 71 cases the consulate handled in 1996 of Americans who went missing in that region. Mexico City sent authorities to ransack the Hodoyans house, and houses belonging to Emilio, Kitty, Benjamin and Ramon were seized. But mostly Benjamin would have his own parties, and the juniors would show up with their girlfriends, the protected witness says. It was a very unique time of my life.. A HOT DAY IN TIJUANA IS COOLING INTO A GOLDEN SUNSET. The agent later told colleagues that it bothered him that he could not see the prisoner's eyes. Some of these descriptions have to had been written into that "traffic" movie. Alfredo Hodoyan, 25, the rakish and strong-willed brother who is Alex's youngest sibling, took on a more violent role in the gang, according to his brother and Mexican authorities believed that gunmen led by Ramon Arellano Felix mistook the archbishops car for that of a rival druglord, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. The priest says he repeated the rendezvous with Benjamin in January 1994. Judging from U.S. court files, Ramons Rat Pack also knew he was not the most predictable party guest. Within days, several witnesses said, there was a change in Mr. Hodoyan's demeanor. Their beeper goes off and they have to go.) An invitation that found its way into U.S. court files directed the juniors to a splashy post-baptism disco party hosted by Ramon and the babys other godfather, Kitty Paez. ''My son, it's a trap -- you're in a trap, try to understand,'' Cristina Hodoyan entreated in a phone call on Dec. 10. '', ''He can't,'' Mr. Hodoyan insisted. agent about Mr. Hodoyan. Appearances They interviewed him, and hoped that he would eventually be a cooperating witness for the Government against the Arellanos. Personal Information He began to make mental plans to take Mr. Hodoyan to the United States as a witness in gun-running cases. Those were simpler times. I never saw anything strange about them in the religious meetings, the priest says. He would pay for a big baptism party., The Arellano Felixes and their entourage became the beautiful people, the 90210 of drug cartels, says Gonzalo Curiel, the assistant U.S. attorney assigned to the case. And Emilio-Did you know his father was the cousin of a Mexican president?-lived right around the corner. It was a surprise to a lot of people in Tijuana who had dealings with them without knowing what they did, Montano says. The gothic twists and turns of this feud had already resulted in the deaths of six people at a Puerto Vallarta disco in 1992 (Ramon escaped through an air-conditioning duct in the bathroom) and prompted an Arellano Felix associate to have someone seduce and kill the estranged wife of a rival drug lord, push her children off a bridge and send her head to her husband, Mexican authorities said. Her mother is raising her three grandchildren. On Oct. 7, when Alex Hodoyan had been missing for nearly a month, his sister called the consulate again. Weber Rodriguezs arrest was the latest twist in the story of Mexicos former drug czar, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, charged in February with being on the payroll of the late drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes. Its like this big adult playground. Lets face it, it was often for the money. But the chain of dark destinies did not end there. Lina was gorgeous, her brother Jaime says. When Gutierrez Rebollo became head of the countrys anti-drug effort on Dec. 6, Hodoyan agreed to work as his bodyguard in return for protection. Giants outfielder Joc Pederson and his brother, Champ, who has Down syndrome, were Benjamins personal assistant turned out to be Manuelito Martinez, Fabians brother. The D.E.A. Mexican Tale: Drugs, Crime, Torture and the U.S. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/18/world/mexican-tale-drugs-crime-torture-and-the-us.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm, Leaked Images of Gulf Cartel's Rules of Conduct for Hitmen, Sinaloa Cartel Uses Drones With Explosives As It Fights For Territory In Jalisco, Hitmen of Gulf Cartel's Primito Caught Red-Handed Kidnapping in Daz Ordaz, Tamps, 8.5 Tons of Liquid Methamphetamine Hidden in Tequila Bottles Seized from Manzanillo Port, Cartel Arellano Flix Member "El Dani" Killed. Alfredo was openhearted, generous- wasnt he always issuing invitations to play basketball at the Hodoyans hoop? ''I love my brother, Mama,'' Mr. Hodoyan told his mother at one point. Benjamin, the priest adds, said he was a contractor. Two Mexicans who saw Mr. Hodoyan in later weeks of his detention say they noticed a fresh scar in the middle of his forehead. In the ensuing police raid, Kitty was killed and Francisco Rafael Arellano Flix was arrested. Taking to Twitter this morning, Hector and pal Tommy Follow Border City podcast I wondered sometimes about the fine line that separated safety from danger in Tijuana. ''No remorse at all. Kitty Paez was arrested by U.S. request in downtown Tijuana in 1997. Motor Speedway. As his legal woes deepened, Emilio complained to a relative that his wife Lina was receiving not a cent from Ramon Arellano. Alfredo Hodoyan Palacios era un empresario inmobiliario que administraba las propiedades en renta de la familia Hodoyan y no un matn, al menos eso deca su mam Cristina Palacios. Cristina Palacios de Hodoyan said her son Alfredo, a graduate of St. Augustine Catholic school in San Diego, is the manager of family rental properties, not a gunman. Then he came on as the consummate good cop, pretending to scold his subordinates for treating the prisoner harshly and ordering them to loosen his manacles and upgrade his food. ''He was crying, telling us he was sorry. And it was anything but bland. They have new cars and they invite the girls to a disco and meet their cousins. the fat crazy looking guy in military or police outfit in the middle? The nuncio blessed Ramon, and they left. Meanwhile, one of the Arellanos top gunmen, Fabian Martinez, ''the Shark,'' placed several calls from hiding to the Hodoyans, saying he knew Alex was a Government informant. On Sept. 20, Adriana Hodoyan, Alex's sister, called the United States consulate in Guadalajara to say she believed that her brother, an American citizen, had vanished there. They were graduates of the finest private schools, at home on both sides of the border, the children of families that knew or were related to some of the most powerful people in Baja California. Emilio said, If theyre not helping her, they must think I betrayed them. It made him think they viewed him as an enemy.. Lorenzo Ferro. According to the officers, the windowless bunker where Mr. Hodoyan was shackled hand and foot to a bed was General Gutierrez Rebollo's private interrogation center, where illegally detained suspects were questioned for days and weeks. A United States magistrate concluded in his ruling that Alejandro Hodoyan had probably been killed last year by the Tijuana drug traffickers, who were Alfredo's associates. Webalfredo hodoyan brother religious interview questions and answers sharleen spiteri ashley heath alfredo hodoyan brother Isgho Votre ducation notre priorit At one point, the elder Mr. Hodoyan told his son that a Mexican lawyer who had defended the Arellanos was offering to help get Alex out of military custody. Ramon and Benjamin retreated to gated beach houses south of Rosarito, according to the protected witness, where Ramons appetite for cocaine and his huge steriod rages made him increasingly unpredictable. ''Had this person done even the minimum which duty, regulation, law and custom indicate, the consular service would not have been ignorant of Mr. Hodoyan's detention,'' said Mr. Hamilton, the spokesman for the embassy in Mexico City. Seven weeks earlier, gunmen for the Arellano organization had bungled a plot to assassinate Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the leader of a rival cartel. If Alfredo said, Mama, I need a car, I got him a car. He waited 13 days before visiting Mr. Hodoyan. Alex confessed that he was involved in the Arellano-Felix cartel and the confession was videotaped. But according to both women, Mr. Curiel was reluctant to listen. He replied, ''This is more than I want to hear.''. an indictment of everyone the whole system. Mrs. Hodoyan has said that she visited her son last fall at a military installation in the western state capital of Guadalajara, where she said he was being held secretly by the generals men. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Authorities said terrible things about other neighborhood boys, too. Francisco Flores was in fact inspired by Alex Hodoyans story but not 100%, it is the General plus the three stars gives it away..just saying not sure. Their lawyers have asserted that the statements of Alex Hodoyan and other witnesses provided by Mexico were obtained through torture and are thus invalid. Tho "Sol Prendido for Borderland Beat The war begins in Tamaulipas. WebView the profiles of people named Alfredo Hodoyan. The devalued Mexican peso was relegating some upper class Tijuana families to the middle class. They depict a man overwhelmed by irreconcilable pressures and dominated by a captor who both terrifies him and inspires his devotion. No ''I'm sure I would have done whatever needed to be done,'' he said, calling it ''convenient'' that embassy officials had heaped all of the blame on the one person involved who was no longer in government service. TIJUANA IS THE MEXICAN CITY OF REINVENTION. His parents hoped that if Alex was freed, he would testify in the effort to block Alfredo's extradition in San Diego. It would have been fine with me if they hadnt gotten married at all. They were elated but deeply worried. '', Mexican officers told the A.T.F. The oddest intrigue involved the brother of one of the two accused gunmen. They were hastily married not long before the birth of their twins in 1988. HECTOR hEochagin has shared the devastating news of the "sudden passing" of his brother Freddie. WebMembers of the Tijuana cartel, a powerful Mexican drug cartel founded by Benjamn Arellano Flix and his brother, Ramn Arellano Flix . How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! That worried Emilio a lot, the relative says. See the article in its original context from. He can't.''. The elegant breakables in the tall glass cases seem too fragile for the tale that Gonzalez is telling. 8 His mother Cristina, who is 55, is a prim, devoutly Catholic woman from an upstanding Mexican family. Just saying.. or is it just me? Alex Hodoyan (died 1997) was the younger brother of narcojunior Alfredo Hodoyan. Mexican Tale: Drugs, Crime, Torture and the U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/18/world/mexican-tale-drugs-crime-torture-and-the-us.html. Ramon became the godfather of a number of children in Tijuana, Cristina de Hodoyan said in 1996. agent about his torture, ''he would be the last person I would ever cross a word with.''. General Gutierrez Rebollo's officers, he said, warned him before the interview that if he told the A.T.F. He named Emilio on national television. Perhaps they were grateful enough to ignore the fact that Benjamin had begun to move about with an armed security detail, rare for an ordinary entrepreneur. bureau declined to make the agent who questioned Mr. Hodoyan available for an interview. No! Lina had filed for divorce when she brought their children to visit Emilio at a California prison Nov. 20, 2000, her family says. Like more than a few well-connected Tijuanans, Ruth was born in San Diego County. Gustavo Miranda Santacruz fue el siguiente en la lista al ser levantado y posteriormente baleado, suerte que no corri El Lobo. Soldiers tortured him with cigarette lighters and electric shocks to the eyelids, according to an account he later gave his family. Now the kids I don't feel sorry for. Alejandro Hodoyan The Mexican military eventually turned Mr. Hodoyan over to American officials who are preparing a major new indictment against the Arellano Felix organization. Speaking to the police video camera in measured words and abundant detail, he accused his brother Alfredo of taking part in not one but several killings. You have no rules. The US captured him based on the information provided by General Gutierrez Rebollo. The Mexicans said Alfredo was hiding out near San Diego with Emilio Valdez, the godfather of Alex Hodoyan's daughter, who was wanted in Mexico on another murder charge. But they warned Alex that he would have to reveal that he had been tortured by the troops. The killings infuriated the soldiers' commander, Gen. Gutierrez Rebollo, a bulldog of an officer with a shaven head who was in charge from his headquarters in Guadalajara of a vast military region encompassing much of central Mexico. He had been granted formal immunity from prosecution in Mexico in exchange for his testimony. After his family reported him missing to United States officials, a law enforcement agent assigned to the American Embassy interviewed him at a unused barracks, where he was blindfolded and handcuffed to a steel bed. We all no what happens 2 people who snitch-its a horrible, torturous death & furthermore, u r with ur mom -putting her life n danger too!! The scar, he said, was where skin peeled away when his duct tape blindfolds were changed. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. CRISTINA PALACIOS DE HODOYAN OPENS THE DOOR TO A FOYER FILLED WITH a large doll collection and other touches of the decorative juvenilia that adults somtimes use to reinforce a sense of innocence. Alfredo Hodoyan, 25, and a childhood friend have been jailed in San Diego for a year on a Mexican warrant charging them with helping the Arellano Felix brothers agents flew Mr. Hodoyan to the United States. MEXICO CITY -- The Giants and Padres teamed up to hold a Play Ball event at Estadio Alfredo Harp Hel on Saturday morning, hosting over 100 local youth from the John Langdon Down Foundation in conjunction with Major League Baseballs Mexico City Series. Alex's own brother Alfredo assists him in joining the gang, which does not end well for Alex. Five days later, Adriana Hodoyan, who is 30, traveled to Guadalajara and gave the consulate a photo of Alex and a detailed account of the travel route he had planned. Ruth gave birth to their first child-also named Ruth-in San Diego a year later, and Montano baptized her. Her suitor was a rakish 19-year-old unknown with bedroom eyes and a crooked smile, a man known as Kitty to his friends. ''I'll never forget what he said,'' recalled his wife, Bertha Hodoyan. '' I don't want that.''. After 28 days on the job, Ibarra was shot to death Sept. 14, 1996, outside the Mexico City airport. Youre young. Their eldest son was in the custody of powerful Mexican military officers who, Alex hinted, would think nothing of killing him. Hodoyan was kidnapped a second time, in Tijuana last March, and remains missing. Alfredo Hodoyan, 25, and a childhood friend have been jailed in San Diego for a year on a Mexican warrant charging them with helping the Arellano Felix brothers kill the federal police commander of Baja California. One of the gangs leaders, Ramon Arellano Felix, was placed on the FBIs Most Wanted list in September. Alfredo Hodoyan Alfredo (played by Ivn Aragn) was working as a drug runner for the Tijuana cartel, transporting cocaine across the border into the US without Angelica wasnt the only well-to-do Tijuanan to bring a reputed trafficker into the family. Its the same now: You go to a party, you meet these guys and you dont even know their names, just pseudonyms. Alex Hodoyan is a typical teenager living in Tijuana. Biographical Information Her new boyfriend was a very polite young man, and very much in love with Ruth, says Montano. Mexican officials say his disclosures have already prompted the dismissal of ''several dozen'' detectives and police commanders accused of ties to the Tijuana-based organization, which is led by the Arellano Felix brothers. It seems Join Facebook to connect with Alfredo Hodoyan and others you may know. In 1980, Francisco Arellano Felix, owner of a Mazatlan disco, failed to appear in a San Diego court to answer charges of selling half a kilo of cocaine. Los Narcojuniors era un grupo de jvenes sicarios adinerados, algunos de ellos consumidores de drogas y otros varios no, que el mismo Ramn Arellano encarg formar a El Kitty; sin embargo, el grupo intent hacerse de la plaza en Tijuana para el trfico de drogas ilcitas; hecho que Ramn respondi a su osada. Junto con el doctor Ibarra Sants, otras tres personas fueron asesinadas por El Lobo, dos agentes federales y un taxista, hecho por el que el narcojunior fue sentenciado a cumplir una pena de 50 aos en prisin. Before dawn on the morning of Feb. 20, Mr. Hodoyan committed what a United States official described as ''totally irrational and suicidal act.'' 1. No one knew who they were, Cristina says. He is presumed dead. Drug Enforcement Administration officials say Benjamin Arellano Felix first appeared on the radar for a petty 1982 drug arrest in Montebello; he was with his former wife and brother Eduardo. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Wildfires in Anchorage? Hodoyans old bosses _ the Arellano Felix brothers _ are believed to control almost all drug trafficking along the California-Mexico border, transporting tons of cocaine and marijuana into the United States. It was a sweltering summer day, but Mr. Arellano sported a mink jacket and leather pants. ''Prior to the murder the witness's brother arrived at the hotel,'' the record of Mr. Hodoyan's testimony reads, referring to the April 1996 killing of a Mexican boxer said to have encroached on the Arellanos' turf. Giants outfielder Joc Pederson and his brother, Champ, who has Down syndrome, were Lorenzo Ferro as Alex Hodoyan Alex Hodoyan is another budding narcojunior. Weber Rodriguez, who was director of intelligence at the institute, is accused of kidnapping Alejandro Hodoyan in September 1996 and holding him for several months to extract information about reputed drug lords, the Arellano Felix brothers of Tijuana. Ruth was with Benjamin in March when soldiers barged into their house in Puebla and took him away. Deceased Mexican police say some of the brothers were the proteges of a well-connected relative, the Sinaloa drug kinpin Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, who was jailed in 1989 in connection with the murder of U.S. DEA agent Enrique Camarena. It was unclear when he was arrested. The officers were trying to pit Alex against their youngest son, who was in jail in San Diego fighting extradition to Mexico on a murder charge that could put him in prison for decades. After a childhood of ballet lessons and society weddings, Lina married the baby-faced son of a courtly Tijuana colonel who had been a presidential guardsman. saw this guy, he was walking around having a good time,'' Mr. McGivney said. General Gutierrez Rebollo had good reason to court Mr. Hodoyan. Police told the family that he appeared to have been tortured in front of her. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? They never did anything to me, Mama, please try to understand,'' he said. TE PUEDE INTERESAR:Doa Lety: La ex judicial que le declar la guerra a 'El Mencho' y a Los Zetas. His mission, he later said, was to find a new ''safe house,'' a local base for the group's operations. Other wives, like Lina Literas, hunkered down and became one of the boys-but she was not crazy about Ramon. His life changes drastically when he is recruited into Ramn Arellano Flixs Narco Juniors gang. One by one, friends the Hodoyans had known since childhood were drawn into the Arellanos' circle of riches and violence. 'You know what?' Is General Gutierrez Rebollo. ''No! She was the perfect girl. Her mother tried to discourage her romance with the swaggering Emilio. Benjamin Arellano Felix is currently housed in a high-security prison near Mexico City, awaiting trial on drug-trafficking charges. Emilio got 30 years. TE PUEDE INTERESAR:Lola La Chata, de vender ropa y chicharrones a ser una de las pioneras del narco en Mxico. I thought [forget] that, and got off the beach. I just want to say; I always read the article first then comment. Under pressure to give evidence against his brother, he disappeared across the border to Mexico where he had numerous enemies, including the Arellano Felix gang, which, he was told, had put out a contract on his life. Drawing on his prodigious memory, he poured out what he knew about the Arellanos in manic bursts. ''The amazing thing is, the guy just doesn't shut up,'' said a United States official who questioned the A.T.F. Everyone who lives here has the money to give their children opportunities, cars, private schooling, clothes, an allowance. ''I don't want trouble.
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