Berta Guadalupe Díaz said that Jorge Hank Rhon bought her a hearing aid and helped in the effort to bring public services to the neighborhood she leads.

“I have so many reasons to thank him, so many. To me, what the government did to him is an injustice because he’s helped people so much,” said Díaz, 66, who was one an estimated 3,000 residents who turned out Tuesday afternoon to support Hank Rhon.

They gathered at 4:30 p.m. in the Río zone, on avenida Paseo de los Héroes, to protest the arrest of Hank Rhon, who was detained along with ten other men early Saturday morning allegedly for keeping an arsenal in his home.

The protesters shared similar stories. Some said he had helped them personally, others that they worked for him while others were thankful that he had brought professional soccer to the border.

Some said they had come to express their gratitude for the scholarships that Hank Rhon had awarded their children or for the monthly groceries he had given their families.

Hank Rhon and the 10 others were returned to Baja California late Tuesday night from Mexico City, according to an announcement from the Attorney General’s Office. He was taken to El Hongo State Prison, east of Tecate, to await prosecution on charges he violated federal weapons laws.

Federal authorities allegedly found 88 weapons, 70 magazine clips, more than 9,000 live rounds and a gas grenade at his house.

However, Hank Rhon’s wife, María Elvia Amaya de Hank, presented a letter she said her husband wrote shortly after being detained saying he had never seen those weapons. The letter went on to say that authorities had burst into his house without a warrant and had violated his human rights.

On Tuesday, the protesters carried signs that read: “Free Hank,” “We are all Hank,” “We demand that Hank Rhon’s human rights be respected,” and “The anonymous call came from Los Pinos,” a reference to the fact that authorities say the raid on Hank Rhon’s house began with an anonymous tip, while “Los Pinos” refers to President Calderon’s residence in Mexico City.

The municipal leader of a powerful union, the Central de Trabajadores de México (CTM), Jesús Sosa Guzmán, went a step a further. He said the protest could be the beginning of Hank Rhon’s second bid to be elected governor of Baja California.

“We’re not going to disappoint a man who has more than 100,000 employees in the state,” said Sosa.

For his part, the local leader of the party known as the PRI, Gregorio Barreto, said that it was not right for the government to attack a man who generates so many jobs.

“I’m here because I work in the racetrack and because I think it’s an injustice what they did,” said José Alfonso Madrigal, 23, who brought two dogs of the breed Xoloitzcuintles he said he takes care of for Hank Rhon.

Manuel González, 48, is a driver of a van, or “calafia,” that moves people around the city. “We are here because we believe Hank is a passive person who respects our union,” said González, who was surrounded by around 20 drivers from the Rojo y Crema bus line as he spoke.

Supporters also have created a Facebook page, “Yo apoyo a Hank Rhon”

(I support Hank Rhon),

to post their views about him.

Hank Rhon is a wealthy businessman who presides over gambling businesses across Mexico, Latin America and Europe.

He also owns hotels, shopping centers and his son is the president of the successful professional soccer team in Tijuana, the Xoloitzcuintles.

He’s a leading figure in the PRI, whose leaders have criticized his arrest as a “witch hunt” by President Calderón and his ruling PAN party. Many of the protesters Tuesday wore red, the PRI’s color.

From 2004 to 2007, Hank Rhon was mayor of Tijuana, a difficult period because residents faced a surge in violence linked to organized crime. He took a leave in the final year of his term to run for governor as PRI’s candidate but lost.

Source: SanDiegoRed.com