Thread: Authorities raid former Mexican mayor's McAllen home

Authorities raid former Mexican mayor's McAllen home

September 2, 2008 - 7:24PM
Jeremy Roebuck
McALLEN -- State and federal authorities searched the home Tuesday of a former Mexican mayor and federal police commander.

Raúl Antonio RodrÃ*guez Barrera, who once held Ciudad Miguel Alemán's top political seat, is now one of many targets in an ongoing narcotics smuggling investigation, law enforcement officials said.

Agents descended upon his McAllen house, near the intersection of First Street and Nolana, just before 3 p.m. and holed up inside for nearly three hours.

RodrÃ*guez, 48, entered the home briefly but declined to comment as he left minutes later with two small dogs under his arm.

So far, authorities have released little information regarding the case, saying only that the investigation is ongoing and RodrÃ*guez has cooperated with agents.

He had not been charged with a crime as of Tuesday evening, but this is not the first time his name has been linked to alleged drug smuggling.

In 2002, Mexican journalist Félix Alonso Fernández GarcÃ*a publicly accused the ex-mayor of working with Gulf Cartel lieutenant Gilberto GarcÃ*a Mena. Fernández died days later in a hail of bullets only feet from Miguel Alemán's municipal building.

Although his killers were never caught, investigators later said they found cocaine in the reporter's vehicle and suggested he may have also been linked to smuggling, according to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based press freedom advocacy group.

Two years later, authorities discovered 1,500 pounds of marijuana at a hotel RodrÃ*guez owned in Pharr.

Several of his associates, including his brother-in-law and the police chief who worked under his administration, were arrested in connection with that case and have since served time in federal prison.

At the time of their arrests, RodrÃ*guez denied having any connection to their illegal activities.

"I cannot be held responsible for the actions of my family and friends," he told El Mañana del Nuevo Laredo for a February 2004 article.

RodrÃ*guez served as mayor of Ciudad Miguel Alemán - across the Rio Grande from Roma - from 1999 to 2001, earning the nickname "El Chupón" while in office. Translated literally, the term refers to a baby's pacifier, but it is also a Spanish slang term for a leech or a swindler.

Prior to his election, RodrÃ*guez had worked as a federal police commander in the area.

His name has recently emerged as a possible candidate on the federal congressional slate of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, known by its Spanish acronym PRI.

In addition to his McAllen home, RodrÃ*guez owns several properties in Pharr and Hidalgo.

Tuesday's raid was conducted by members of the South Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, a joint state and federal operation charged with combating narcotics smuggling.

Officials with the organization did not return after-hours calls for comment.



http://www.themonitor.com/articles/home ... allen.html

Why is this man allowed to live in the US?!?!?!

Several of his associates, including his brother-in-law and the police chief who worked under his administration, were arrested in connection with that case and have since served time in federal prison.

At the time of their arrests, RodrÃ*guez denied having any connection to their illegal activities.

"I cannot be held responsible for the actions of my family and friends," he told El Mañana del Nuevo Laredo for a February 2004 article.

You certainly ARE responsible for the actions of employees under YOUR command! Otherwise, you suck at your job DUH!

I am sure that forensic accountants are taking a good hard look at the money used to buy these properties, and where it came from. Under the RICO Act, if I am not mistaken, that property can easily be seized by the government (ours, not Mexico's).

Originally Posted by vortex

I am sure that forensic accountants are taking a good hard look at the money used to buy these properties, and where it came from. Under the RICO Act, if I am not mistaken, that property can easily be seized by the government (ours, not Mexico's).

I bet the last President of Mexico and this current one are linked to MANY illegal activities.