Former Police Commissioner & Enemy Of The Mayor Show Up Dead, Sonoyta, Sonora

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

On the afternoon of Sunday, September 12, the former commissioner Héctor Habakuk Hernández Valderrama was found dead along with another ex- police officer identified as Carmelo Montes.

It was said that the vehicle, a black recent model Dodge Ram pick up, was parked in a suspicious manner on 8th Street, located in the Pápago neighborhood of Sonoyta, Sonora.  

According to information from sources Tribuna spoke to, it is believed that the ex-officers may have lost their lives due to asphyxiation, since they were found with no injuries due to firearm detonation or stab wounds. Investigations by personnel from the State Attorney General's Office (FGJE) are currently ongoing. 

Héctor Habakuk Hernández Valderrama was a commissioner of the Municipal Police in Sonoyta, and was also a member of the (now defunct) Federal Highway Police.

Héctor Habakuk Hernández Valderrama

Página: Portada de Sonora reports that it was well known for a long time that the Mayor of Sonoyta, José Ramos Arzate and Commissioner Valderrama had major disagreements. 

 

Chief among their disagreements was Mayor Ramos Arzate’s desire for José Alfredo Sarabia Madueño to become the next candidate for the Sonoyta mayor. José Sarabia Madueño is a great friend and a king of protégé of Mayor Jose Ramos, so he wished for him to be his successor as Mayor. 

Apparently the Commissioner had a bad run in with José Sarabia Madueño’s brother-in-law due to a public drunkenness incident in which the brother-in-law passed out in the middle of the street. The Commissioner put the brother-in-law in the drunk tank, which upset José Sarabia Madueño.

Another major conflict between the Commissioner and Mayor came when the Commissioner managed to get four to five vehicles from the state government to be used by the City Hall and for public safety, but at the last minute the Mayor reportedly got cold feet and did not leave even one of those vehicles for public safety.

 

Then La Voz de Sonoyta reported that “after 21 months as commissioner of the Public Safety Department Commissioner Héctor Habakuk Valderrama Hernández will tender his resignation this Monday, after a series of disagreements with Municipal President José Ramos Arzate.”

When interviewed by La Voz while outside his home located on Lázaro Cárdenas Avenue, Commissioner Valderrama said he was tired of serving as a cover for the mayor, because while he was making efforts to strengthen the police force, the mayor was standing on his neck.

Commissioner Valderrama said he had sought to end corruption by dismissing bad elements that only damaged the image of the institution, among other things.

Valderrama added that it is not acceptable to take unfair advantage of a situation, which is why he decided to resign, as he was tired of this type of vitriol from the municipal president, said Valderrama in this brief interview.

Update 9/14/2021 12:30 PM CST: An earlier version of this article referred to one of the commissioner's surnames as "Balderrama" in some parts and "Valderrama" in others due to a discrepancy in sources below. All references have now been updated to "Valderrama" as it is what the majority of sources are currently reporting. Thank you to an anonymous BB reader for bringing this to my attention. 

Sources: Tribuna, La Voz de Sonoyta, Tribuna San Luis, Radar Sonora, Página: Portada de Sonora