But Mr. Hodoyan was bitter that the Arellano gang had sent him into an ambush. That did not qualify Paez as a suitable fiance for the daughter of the president of the Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau. (These people have last-minute commitments and problems, one relative says. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Still, the drug enforcement agents eagerly accepted the offer as a rare chance to cooperate with the Mexican military and improve their relations with the general. They see the end coming.''. And that was merely the first chapter in a life never imagined by Angelicas parents. 2 official in the embassy, Charles H. Brayshaw, who sent him to the consul general for Mexico City, a senior diplomat who handles problems involving United States citizens. IN THE LAST 50 YEARS IT has been transformed from a dusty backwater of 65,000 to an electric border boomtown whose official population tops 1 million, though many believe it is twice that size. The Hodoyans hoped to raise their children with the best of the American and Mexican cultures. I don't want them to kill me. Delicate swallowtail butterflies rest on china daisies. Kitty Paez? The A.T.F. El Lobo Hodoyan fue acusado de participar en el asesinato del doctor Ernesto Ibarra Sants quien era sealado como un hombre incorruptible que fue comisionado en 1996 por la PGR a la plaza de Tijuana. You have to prove your loyalty. Alfredo Hodoyans older brother, Alex, was invited to join the U.S. ''No! Id never heard of him, Gonzalez says. WebTras 20 aos en prisin, Alfredo Hodoyn Palacios, del Crtel Arellano Flix, gana un amparo y su libertad. 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. El Lobo permanece en libertad y se especula que regres a vivir a San Diego, California. WebHe has since been arrested for drug corruption. By law, the Mexican armed forces can hold criminal suspects for no more than 48 hours before turning them over to the civilian authorities. Gender Ryan Truex is congratulated by big brother, NASCAR Series Cup driver Martin Truex Jr., in victory lane after winning Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series A-GAME 200 at Dover International Speedway. What parent doesn't wish for their kids to live a positive life. One night, Ramon invited Emilio out to romance some beautiful women, and Lina snapped: Shut up Ramon. Emilio worried about it, a relative says. Now hes trying to sell his story to Hollywood. El doctor Ibarra Sants haba declarado sobre el poder, los negocios ilcitos y los contactos que tenan los Arellano Flix y se comprometi a detener a los llamados narcotraficantes, pero no pudo complir con su cometido. Officers at the Defense Ministry in Mexico City invited an agent from the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to question an exceptional informant they had about arms smuggling to Mexican drug traffickers. Mr. Hodoyan, an American citizen who was born in San Diego and lived most of his life just across the border in Tijuana, was abducted and detained illegally for 80 days by Mexican military officers. 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. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Benjamin opened a nice seafood restaurant in town. Ramons habit of treating everyone to champagne endeared him to the Instituto set. That worried Emilio a lot, the relative says. WebMembers of the Tijuana cartel, a powerful Mexican drug cartel founded by Benjamn Arellano Flix and his brother, Ramn Arellano Flix . Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. But the chain of dark destinies did not end there. His mission, he later said, was to find a new ''safe house,'' a local base for the group's operations. ''He is talking, talking, talking. And power, Garin says with a wry, world-weary air. If he got drunk or started using, you didnt even want to be around him, the protected witness says. As soon as the Hodoyan family realized Alex was missing, they turned to the American authorities for help. They keep meeting these people, in a party, at a disco, they buy bottles of champagne, and they become the new members of the narco-society. Authorities said terrible things about other neighborhood boys, too. Everyone who lives here has the money to give their children opportunities, cars, private schooling, clothes, an allowance. Police told the family that he appeared to have been tortured in front of her. 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. On Sept. 10, 1996, the Arellano gang sent Alex Hodayan to Guadalajara, the central Mexican city that has emerged as a battleground for competing drug gangs. According to those same documents, Emilio and Ramon were attending a birthday party at Tijuanas Club Britania in late 1988 when an unwelcome guest arrived. Newspaper and TV reports said that Ignacio Weber Rodriguez, of the now-defunct National Institute for the Combat of Drugs, was charged Tuesday at a high-security prison outside the nations capital. And by the following year, Benjamin had enough notoriety in certain circles that he raised eyebrows when he and Ruth arrived at the Miss Mexico pageant in Tijuana and were shown to a VIP area usually reserved for business sponsors and their friends. Soon after he arrived in the United States, Mr. Hodoyan, his 32-year-old wife, Bertha Gastelum de Hodoyan, and his mother met with the American prosecutor who was handling the extradition of his brother. He would sit at nearby Sanborns cafe on Avenida Revolucion, poring over his ledger books, wearing a distinctive white linen suit and carrying an executive attache case. had been told of Mr. Hodoyan's military detention more than a month earlier by the A.T.F. Mr. Curiel acknowledged recently at a court hearing in San Diego that the allegations of torture were plausible and serious, but said they should be investigated by the Mexican authorities. Two months later, that officer, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, was jailed on charges of collaborating with another drug lord, a bitter rival of the Arellano Felix brothers. agent that Mr. Hodoyan had been blindfolded to prevent him from seeing the American's face, since the prisoner, they said, was a ''dangerous and violent criminal.''. Angelica wasnt the only well-to-do Tijuanan to bring a reputed trafficker into the family. Emilio Valdez Mainero and Alfredo Hodoyan were linked to the Arellano Felix drug organization, which controls the lucrative drug corridor from Baja California into the United States. Other officials confirmed that it was Mr. Randall, who was recalled from Mexico to Washington late last year and retired from the Foreign Service in January 1997. Porcelain brides and grooms painted in reassuring pastels gaze at each other with bland expressions of matrimonial joy. ''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. 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. Alex confessed that he was involved in the Arellano-Felix cartel and the confession was videotaped. Appearances Alex Hodoyan (died 1997) was the younger brother of narcojunior Alfredo Hodoyan. ''He didn't tell anybody above, below or alongside,'' a diplomat said later, calling Mr. Randall's performance ''a clear case of nonfeasance.''. ''He was wearing a big thick chain with a big gold cross encrusted with emeralds,'' said a Hodoyan relative, who asked not to be identified. Shortly before the generals arrest, American law officers allegedly approached Hodoyan. Mr. Hodoyan made it clear that General Gutierrez Rebollo had promised him that his statements against Alfredo could not be used in any Mexican or American court because they were brothers. Mr. Hodoyan volunteered nothing about mistreatment by the soldiers, American officials said, and the statement he later gave his family suggests a reason. THERE ARE STILL SOCIETY KIDS WHO brag that they know two of the younger Arellanos, Eduardo and Javier, who, some DEA officials believe, are living under armed guard in Tijuana, trying to stave off competitors and paying $1 million a week to police. On Feb. 18, the fragile world Mr. Hodoyan built as an informant imploded. Russia missile attack on Ukraine injures 34, damages homes, Far from Russia, a pro-Moscow sliver of land tries to cling to its identity and keep war at bay, Man who lost wife, son in Texas mass shooting tells story. Alex exploded, saying: ''I don't matter to them! Is General Gutierrez Rebollo. No After the first contact, Mr. Hoyodan was allowed to call his parents regularly, and as he talked in guarded language, they realized that he was informing on the Arellano gang and was under pressure to turn on his own brother. He waited 13 days before visiting Mr. Hodoyan. American officials said the Mexican armed forces had provided an airplane to fly the A.T.F. Full name Donald R. Hamilton, the embassy's spokesman, otherwise defended its handling of the case, saying Mr. Hodoyan did not complain of torture to any American official in Mexico or suggest that he was under duress. His methods, frankly, were overlooked.''. I thought [forget] that, and got off the beach. No! But Kitty, with his jeans, T-shirts and irresistable grin, was considered the coolest guy in his Instituto clique. So did skinny little Fabian Martinez, who was so shy that his father, a respected pediatrician, organized a baseball team so his son would have children to play with. You have women all over the place. Alex knew that his detention by the DEA was illegal, and threatened a lawsuit unless he was freed. he said. Now the kids I don't feel sorry for. In return they gave him loads of cocaine and marijuana to move across the border, allowing him to keep the proceeds, he told Mexican prosecutors. Friends say that when he dropped by the Instituto one day to pick up some seniors, Angelica was thrilled to be noticed. He moved freely about the headquarters of the federal drug agency in the capital, where General Gutierrez Rebollo had been transferred. ''In a normal situation, a family like the Hodoyans would never find themselves involved with traffickers.''. WebView the profiles of people named Alfredo Hodoyan. Been there and still living it. Mexican officials now suspect that much of the information the general extracted from Mr. Hodoyan went directly to the rival drug organization. Grandparents rolled their eyes when ostentatious gifts from the godfathers arrived at childrens birthday parties. They never did anything to me, Mama, please try to understand,'' he said. It's Instead, when Angelica was 16, she tearfully revealed to her mother that she was pregnant. 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. Just saying.. or is it just me? REPUTATIONS WERENT THE only things damaged. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. He had been granted formal immunity from prosecution in Mexico in exchange for his testimony. Its the same now: You go to a party, you meet these guys and you dont even know their names, just pseudonyms. He says her stepfather owned an elegant Tijuana restaurant and her grandfather had been head of immigration and a political party chief. Soon after, Mexican officials sent their American counterparts information developed by General Gutierrez Rebollo indicating that Alfredo Hodoyan, Alex's brother, was a triggerman in the killing. Ramon roared through the streets on a motorcycle, wearing splashy Versace shirts, black leather pants and an easy smile. Alejandro Hodoyan They were hastily married not long before the birth of their twins in 1988. The Arellanos and the narcojuniors were celebrities.. How could you not know him? Agustin asked after Alfredos arrest in 1996. Mr. Brayshaw did not inquire again what had become of Mr. Hodoyan because he assumed that the Consul General had done his job, Mr. Hamilton said. In one conversation his father asked him what he wanted to tell his brother Alfredo and his brother's lawyers. But they warned Alex that he would have to reveal that he had been tortured by the troops. But I never wanted to ask him for a favor, Agustin said, because nothing is free. Not everybody had those reservations. But mostly Benjamin would have his own parties, and the juniors would show up with their girlfriends, the protected witness says. She was frantic. Alex Hodoyan panicked, afraid that General Gutierrez Rebollo would retaliate if he denounced him. His testimony, which produced eight hours of videotape and more than 200 pages of transcripts, is viewed on both sides of the border as a law enforcement triumph, a breakthrough in Mexico's flagging fight against drug traffickers. Their lives changed drastically when their oldest son Alex Hodoyan disappeared in the mid-1990's. who is he? Finally, Alejandro Enrique Hodoyan Palacios (Alejandro), Hodoyan's brother, gave a videotaped deposition in Mexico on November 30, 1996, and was interviewed in the United States in February 1997 about his brother's and Valdez's involvement in both murders. ''Everything about him made you turn around and say, who is he?''. But if being an enemy was dangerous, being a member of his entourage could be a rush. They will be left without a father.''. 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. 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. ''I'll never forget what he said,'' recalled his wife, Bertha Hodoyan. '' I still pay for his gas. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? He felt very brave strutting around with them. The surname occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 66 Hodoyan was kidnapped a second time, in Tijuana last March, and remains missing. Officially, the Arellano Felixes were on the lam. He was fighting Mexicos attempt to extradite him for the murder To Dario Garin, the president of the Tijuana Country Club, the Arellano Felixes allure boiled down to two simple things: Money. Alex Hodoyan is a typical teenager living in Tijuana. But behind the image on the videotape is a tale of a middle-class family torn apart, with brother turned against brother in a violent drug culture. U.S. officials say the cartel executed him. 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. Endir y Henain Meza Castaos, los dos hermanos narcojuniors sufrieron el embate de Ramn que comenz a asesinar a todos aquellos que queran quitarle el control. United States officials later described that as an egregious failure to deliver the basic protections guaranteed citizens in trouble in foreign lands. She was the perfect girl. Her mother tried to discourage her romance with the swaggering Emilio. Nevertheless, for nearly two hours the American agent probed to find out what the prisoner knew about the traffic of weapons. Mexican military officials announced the arrest of General Gutierrez Rebollo. TE PUEDE INTERESAR:Doa Lety: La ex judicial que le declar la guerra a 'El Mencho' y a Los Zetas. It was around that time that Benjamin began coming to church with one of the prettiest girls in town. He immediately implicated his brother and himself in a number of crimes. Two Mexicans who saw Mr. Hodoyan in later weeks of his detention say they noticed a fresh scar in the middle of his forehead. The embassy official assigned to follow up on the agent's report of a captive American citizen took no action. In December, after General Gutierrez Rebollo was promoted to head Mexico's antidrug agency, he offered agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration a chance to debrief his informant. THE ARELLANO FELIXES, A PROSPEROUS FAMILY OF SEVEN BROTHERS AND FOUR sisters, were from Sinaloa, the Pacific Coast birthplace of many Mexican drug traffickers. Status He was Ramon Arellano Felix, the blue-jeaned kid brother of a big family new to Tijuana. Webbrother and fled back to Tijuana. Witness Protection Program in exchange for his testimony against the cartel. They were elated but deeply worried. The family still hopes that Alex will someday It was a very unique time of my life.. Father Montano says he was not the only one who was stunned to discover that the Arellanos were drug traffickers. ''Tell them I made a deal with the general, and the general is keeping his word to me,'' Mr. Hodoyan said. They just want to help me now because they have problems with the military and the police. His brother Alfredo and his friend Mr. Valdez remain in prison in San Diego fighting extradition to Mexico. A large middle class feeds a pulsing youth culture of crowded discos and hip rock bands. agent to Guadalajara. I can't say anything about that until I finish what I am doing here.''. He and Angelica had been divorced for a year, her family says. Fue exonerado del cudruple homicidio de agentes federales y un taxista en la Ciudad de Mxico en 1996. Alfredo Hodoyan era apodado como El Lobo tuvo una estrecha relacin con los hermanos Arellano Flix en Tijuana. Motor Speedway. ''They told me I had arrived in hell,'' he said in a statement he dictated to his parents months later. I went Hey whats going on. Hes like, Im just sitting here. But I could see him with the tripod pointing with his scope. Alejandro Hodoyan vanished a second _ and apparently last _ time on March 5 when two men with automatic rifles jumped out of a van in a Tijuana parking lot, tossed him inside, and screeched away. In May 2001, Arturo Kitty Paez, 34, became the first accused lieutenant of the Tijuana drug cartel to be extradited to the United States for cocaine trafficking.
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