Mexico's authorities have linked two weapons allegedly found in the possession of former Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon to homicide cases.
According to Mexico’s Justice Department, the weapons were used in the 2010 murder of a car dealer and the 2009 killing of a bodyguard, both in Tijuana. According to the Associated Press, at least one of the weapons has Hank Rhon’s name emblazoned on the barrel.
Hank Rhon, the scion of one of Mexico’s most famous political families and the owner of one of the nation’s largest casino chains, was arrested in Tijuana earlier this month, and charged with possession of illegal military-grade weapons. He remains under investigation for links to organized crime, and the state of Baja California Norte, where Tijuana is located, will decide whether to pursue charges related to the murders.
Hank Rhon’s name has been connected to homicides in the past; his chief bodyguard, Antonio Vera, was convicted of the 1988 murder of journalist Hector Felix Miranda, who had criticized Hank Rhon in his writing. The former official has never previously been charged with a crime and denies all of the current accusations, but he has long been accused of links to the Arellano Felix clan, also known as the Tijuana Cartel, for years the dominant force in that city's underworld.
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