Sheriff: Man possibly abducted by Mexican drug traffickers

June 15, 2009 - 9:41 PM
By JARED TAYLOR, The Monitor

NEAR WESLACO - A 38-year-old man's location remains unknown after he was abducted by suspected Mexican drug traffickers Sunday evening.

Isidro Rodriguez's abduction came after his two younger brothers allegedly stole a large amount of cash from an unidentified drug trafficking organization, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

Rodriguez's relatives told sheriff's deputies that two men in a Range Rover SUV pulled up to his property at 318 Beto Garcia St., north of Weslaco, the sheriff said.

The SUV's passenger hopped out, pointed a gun at Rodriguez and barked at him in Spanish to get inside the vehicle about 7 p.m. Sunday. Seven of
Rodriguez's relatives told deputies they witnessed the abduction.

"The guy, fearing for his family's safety, got in the truck with them," Treviño said of Rodriguez.

About four hours later, deputies found the Range Rover abandoned in a field about a mile from Rodriguez's house. His whereabouts remain unknown.

Rodriguez's relatives told investigators they believe he was abducted because his two younger brothers, Ruperto and Ricardo Rodriguez, snatched a large amount of cash from an unidentified Mexican drug trafficking group, Treviño said.

Mexican authorities received one telephone call from Rodriguez's captors demanding his brothers to turn over the stolen money, the sheriff said.

"If not, they will start kidnapping other family members," Treviño said.

Attempts to reach Rodriguez's family via telephone Monday afternoon were unsuccessful.

Police generally remain tight-lipped during kidnapping investigations to not jeopardize the victim's safety, Treviño said.

But with this case, authorities have few leads and are trying to shed some light on their investigation to locate Rodriguez or his brothers.

"We don't believe they have been kidnapped," Treviño said of Ricardo and Ruperto Rodriguez. "But we believe they are hiding out somewhere."

Sunday night's kidnapping marks the second drug-related abduction in less than three weeks.

Diana Treviño and Pedro Castillo Rivera have had reported each other missing to deputies several times before May 27. Since that date, no one has heard from them and deputies believe they were kidnapped. The duo worked for a Weslaco-area drug smuggler who may be seeking revenge for a missing load of cash.

Both abductions involved people involved with suspected drug smugglers, Treviño said.
And both incidents have involved Mexican drug traffickers sending over "strong-armed individuals" to kidnap and get even, Treviño said, adding that the kidnapping "by no means is an example of spillover violence."

"But it is a definite example of border violence," Treviño said, "something we have been experiencing for years because of drug trafficking

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