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Kidnapped Tijuana official freed unharmed

By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 24, 2005

TIJUANA – A top city official and two-time president of the city's Chamber of Commerce was held captive for almost eight hours Monday by masked gunmen who grabbed him from his car as he was driving into a parking lot.

Alejandro Ruiz Arretche, City Hall's representative in the central La Mesa District, said yesterday that he spent the time handcuffed and blindfolded on a mattress. His release came after his captors said they had made a mistake, drove him to an empty lot in the eastern Capistrano neighborhood, and sped away.

The abduction of such a high-profile member of the community has stirred renewed alarm, as many top business leaders have moved across the border for safety.

Ruiz Arretche was unharmed but his wrists carried bruises and marks from the handcuffs.

He appeared calm as he spoke to reporters yesterday, and said he would continue with his City Hall position. He said criminals have overpowered authorities and that he does not trust police at any level of government.

Until Monday, Ruiz Arretche had moved about the city unaccompanied, but he has now been assigned a police escort.

Ruiz Arretche, 53, a successful night club owner, said he was entering the parking lot at Plaza Carousel to meet some people on city business about 9:30 a.m. when two heavily armed men dressed in black grabbed him and drove him away.

He was unsure of the location of the building where he was held. He remained there until his release about 5 p.m. in the empty lot in eastern Tijuana.