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A Katy man allegedly tied to the Gulf Cartel is being sought by law enforcement agents abroad on charges he ordered the shooting that injured former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz earlier this month in the Dominican Republic.
Top Dominican officials said they believe Víctor Hugo Gómez, of Katy, masterminded the plot to shoot a friend of Ortiz’s seated at the table at an outdoor lounge with the former first baseman known affectionately by the nickname Big Papi. U.S. federal agents indicted Gómez in a massive federal sting on cocaine and heroin traffickers in Houston in March, along with dozens of others. At the time, the Drug Enforcement Administration labeled Gómez, 43, a dangerous fugitive affiliated with the notorious Gulf Cartel a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico, according to Ney Aldrin Bautista, the director of the national police force in the Dominican Republic
Gómez’s last known address is Katy, officials said. Jean Rodríguez, the attorney general of the Dominican Republic, announced in a news release that he had formally asked the U.S. government and specifically the FBI to capture Victor Hugo to appear on pending charges in both countries.
ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Suspect believed cousin had turned him in to Dominican investigators
“This regrettable mistake does not exempt (these men) from guilt,” the attorney general said. “The fact that David Ortiz was not his intended target, does not change the nature of the what happened at all, because it is evident that his intention was to kill a person”
Dominican police believe Alberto Miguel Rodríguez Mota, who served time in a Dominican federal prison with Gómez, was the gunman seen on video rushing into the dining area, firing a gun and then running off. They said the shooter mistook the Boston superstar for his intended target because Ortiz was wearing white pants and the shooter thought he was looking for a man in white pants.
Ortiz was shot once in the back at the packed in Santo Domingo cafe on June 9 and was later airlifted to the Boston area by Red Sox officials. Doctors in Boston have upgraded his condition to good, according to reports.
Gómez and Rodríguez Mota were prison mates at La Victoria penitentiary, according to Bautista of the Dominican police.
The attorney general of the Dominican Republic and the country’s director of police told reporters they believed the attempted murder of his own cousin, Sixto David Fernández, was ordered from the United States by Gómez, an associate of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel. They said Gómez hired a gang of killers to assassinate his own cousin, because Gomez suspected the cousin had turned him in to Dominican drug officials in 2011. The head of the Dominican police said at a press conference that Fernández had a regular table reserved at the restaurant on Sunday nights.
Fernández, who owns an auto-repair shop, was seated with the former first baseman on Sunday, June 9, when a gunman neared their table and fired a single shot at Ortiz, the officials said.
At least 11 people have been arrested in the shooting so far, including an alleged gunman, several accused drivers and others charged with being minor accomplices.