By Sandra Dibble
Sign on San Diego
The Mexican military this morning detained former mayor Jorge Hank Rhon on firearms charges at his residence near the Agua Caliente racetrack, authorities said.
A state government source said that the soldiers seized more than 50 weapons at the home of the gambling tycoon, who was elected mayor of Tijuana in 2004. A member of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, Hank lost his bid for governor in 2007 to the state’s current governor, Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan, a member of President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party.
Hank has long been a controversial figure on both sides of the border. In 1999, a draft report by the National Drug Intelligence Center, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, alleged his family was involved in money laundering and drug trafficking and implied that it was protected because of its ties to t he PRI. But then-attorney general Janet Reno disavowed the report and said its findings were not adopted as government policy.
Additional Spanish Links:
Was linked to the murder of Zeta journalist Héctor Félix Miranda
Perfil El polémico Jorge Hank Rhon
Detiene Ejército a Hank Rhon con arsenal y droga
lol at controversial figure. The guy is a criminal, people in Tijuana think he is worse then the narcos. He had a zoo of exotic animals at one point, and said to have had 27 children. Hank Rhon is CAF affiliated, and has been since the beginning.
ReplyDeleteLets see if the Euro-Descendants get the same kind of Justice as the Meztiso, or if you can buy your way out like in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteTexcoco Mex said.
ReplyDeleteThis MF need to pay for all his wrong doing.
so does this mean the xolos wont be in the 1st division next season?
ReplyDeleteYet he managed to win the municipal presidency in 2005. You would be surprised at how many admirers Mr. Hank Rhon has.
ReplyDeleteHey Anon 2:08pm, justice in Mexico (like anywhere else) has little to do with race, and everything to do with socioeconomic status. That does not negate that often times those that are at the bottom of the social ladder happen to be brown or black.
By the way, I can't wait for next week's Zeta Article. I bet Blancornelas is having a laugh in his grave.
ReplyDeleteMy in law is part of bodyguard crew that protects the right hand son of this guy...he said I had a job whenever I wanted they get payed in dollars big bucks.
ReplyDeletehe's a friend of Geoge Bush and he's also the owner of one of the biggest banks in Texas. just read this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.elandar.com/hank/
http://www.elandar.com/bush/amigos.html
This is going to be a fascinating case, I read he was flown to Mexico City last night, and is now down there in custody, which means it's more serious then if he was just held in Tijuana. I wonder if he will walk from this, or this could be the end of Hank Rhon.
ReplyDeleteBOY, I WONDER WHO HE PISSED OFF? THIS is payback for something,wonder what??
ReplyDeleteThis won't be the end of Hank Rhon. The PRI is already trying to turn this into a political issue. With the elections in the state of Mexico approaching, they are arguing Hank Rhon's arrest is a ploy by the PAN to intervene against the PRI.
ReplyDeleteHell, even butthurt Espino has declared against the PAN with regard to this issue. Mark my words, this will be over pretty soon and Hank Rhon will be the last one laughing.
I dunno, he's being charged with weapon violations...and they seized more than 50 weapons at his residence...sounds pretty cut and dry. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought Mexican gun laws only permit you to have one handgun in your residence for protection? And you have to have a permit for that..lol
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to elandar.com
ReplyDeleteThe political, business and cartel links are aplenty arent they? Lots of moneylaundering going on (back then...)
You have to think like a lawyer, very few things are "cut and dry" with regard to the law (in Mexico or elsewhere).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have it from a good source that Vera might be the one responsible for the mess Hank Rhon is currently in. Apparently most of the weapons seized are legal, but the permits were given by Peña Nieto's administration (how an Edo. de Mexico permit is legitimate in B.C. beats me). The rest of the weapons might belong to Vera and he is known to pretty dirty.
At the moment Vera is nowhere to be found. He better disappear, because if the military doesn't catch him, I'm sure Hank Rhon will.
He's already back in Tijuana, this is all pretty much over, as far as him being in legal trouble,I think this will only help him in popularity. Amazing what that kind of money & power can do.
ReplyDeleteWhat a Representative Weiner!
ReplyDeleteJ, what are you talking about? According to the Union-Tribune, he is still in Mexico City, and will be there for at least two more days.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/06/prosecutors-extend-detention-former-tijuana-mayor/
Although most of us know what kind of crook Hank Rhon is, I'm not so certain the military was on the right with their actions on June 4th. In the days to come, I'm sure Vera Ayala will be the key piece in solving this drama.
Yes, I saw that story, I spoke too soon, I read, and heard on the news he was back in Tijuana last night, but I guess they were wrong, with a story like this there is bound to be confusion and false reports, I should have waited for confirmation. So, it's back to we'll see where this goes. I look at it like this, the longer he's detained in Mexico City, the more serious things will be.
ReplyDeleteDamn, looks like the federal government is not fucking around with this one.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=584012
Hank Rhon will be brought in front of a judge. He will wait in a maximum security prison while his fate is decided.
I must say in Hanks defense, His "home" is also a giant casino, dogtrack, & 40,000 + capacity concert venue. Not to mention he owns several other casinos and businesses. This place, a palace really, is the headquarters for all of that. Not to mention he is the former mayor of one of the worlds deadliest places. I would say that for a place like that to not have an arsenal would be suicide. They deal with large amounts of money daily. Can you imagine O'haras or the MGM Grand would not have an arsenal and security force? In the US, our presidents receive security protection for life. Hank is a bigger fish than any Mexican president. You think he should be walking around with one pistol stuffed in his pants? Ridiculous! As far as his guilt or innocence regarding other issues, there is quite a bit of spec. and I could not say one way or the other.
ReplyDelete