ONLY ON ABC-7: Brother of victim in consulate killings reacts to arrest of gang leader
March 13, 2010 is a day Reuben Redelfs will never forget.
Redelf’s brother Arthur and Arthur’s pregnant wife, Lesley Enriquez, were gunned down by Barrio Azteca gang members after leaving a birthday party.
Enriquez was a U.S. Consulate employee. Arthur was a detention officer for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Their one-year-old daughter Rebecca, who was also in the vehicle, was not injured.
“A lot of innocent people died that day,” Redelfs said. “They were assassinated for no reason.”
Eduardo “Tablas” Ravelo, the Barrio Azteca gang leader wanted on charges related to those murders, was arrested in Michoacan, Mexico on Tuesday.
He was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Ravelo was on the run from authorities for more than eight years.
“Eduardo Ravelo’s reign of terror is over,” Redelfs said. “The world is a safer place. That’s how I feel about it.”
Redelfs said the FBI called him on Tuesday to alert him about the capture.
“This has hurt my family a lot, and it will continue to do so. That hurt will always be there, but it is good news today,” Redelfs said.
Several billboards were scattered around El Paso with Ravelo’s mugshot. The FBI offered up to $100,000 for information leading to his arrest.
“I wasn’t happy about it that he was on the loose and terrorizing people, because that’s what he does. I’m thrilled they got him,” Redelfs said.
Redelfs said Rebecca is now living with other family members, but he chose not to specify out of respect for their privacy. Redelfs said Arthur was his best friend and he misses him every day.
“They were so happy to be starting a family, and their family was expanding. She was four months pregnant at the time of the attack, which just makes it so much worse,” Redelfs said.
Mexican authorities said Ravelo is being held pending extradition to the United States.
“I’m grateful for all the hard work that the FBI and other law enforcement has put into this including the Mexican authorities to capture this man. That was a very big step towards some closure for our family.”
