This is a blast from the past. José Raul Pérez Valdés plead guilty to the 1990 murder of former stockbroker John Ramon Ginnetti for the Vancouver Hells Angels. After the Hells Angels tried to kill him he started to cooperate with the police. He now has a new name and is living outside the country.
Recently I mentioned that the Vietnamese didn't kill Michael Zeke in 1993, the Hells Angels did. Zeke was the Nanaimo Hells Angels president. Local rumors claim he was murdered and dismembered by the Vietnamese when he tried to tax their grows. That was a lie to cover up for the real murderers.
At the time, I did not reveal my source. Today I will. My source is none other than José Raul Pérez Valdés. This is the first of a two part series about José Raul Pérez Valdés and the murder of John Ramon Ginnetti. What really happened and why. The reason why this matters is becuase he was was hired by the same men responsible for the kidnapping, execution, and dismemberment of Michael Zeke in 1993.
So let's begin by explaining how a Cuban assassin ended up in Surrey. Stockwatch posted an introduction to José's background.
He would like to write a book but I'm just a blogger. If anyone has the contacts and would like to help him write his book, let me know. I can hook you up. Be advised you need to know Spanish or at least be able to use Google translate.
José Valdés came to Surrey from Miami after meeting Michael Vukelich in prison. Months later, Vukelish, Tom Sullivan, and Michael Zeke visited him in California. Eventually he was sent to BC, and they began importing cocaine and small batches of firearms. He was arrested in Seattle, Washington, in 1995 on drug possession charges. He was sentenced to 15 years for that and sent to the maximum-security USP in Lompoc, California.
Months later, detectives from West Vancouver traveled to California and charged him with first-degree murder. After serving 10 years of his sentence in California, a federal judge authorized his extradition to BC in 2005.
Upon his arrival in Vancouver, Valdés' former associates there decided he was a liability due to everything he knew. After a failed attempt on his life while he was in custody in Vancouver, Valdés decided to cooperate with the prosecution.
Thanks to his cooperation, the murder charge was reduced to second-degree, and the judge granted him a new identity. He was sentenced to 15 years to life and sent to a prison on the East Coast. Thirteen years later, due to good behavior, he was granted parole and allowed to leave Canada.
He is currently relocated under a new identity through a witness protection program. In the 1980s, following the victory of the revolution led by Daniel Ortega in 1979, the new Sandinista government of Nicaragua persecuted former members of the National Guard—the force that had served the defeated regime of dictator Somoza. Among those targeted were wealthy landowners and other affluent citizens, who were forced to seek refuge across the border.
Many of these men went on to join the ranks of the Contra guerrillas, though a large number also ended up in exile in Miami. In Miami, many of these exiles—backed by the local Cuban community and anti-Castro organizations like Omega-7 and Alpha 66—formed their own anti-Sandinista political groups and organizations. It was through an associate—a Nicaraguan exile—that Valdés managed to join the ranks of the Contra guerrillas.
The Contra guerrilla forces maintained camps along the border between Honduras and Nicaragua; he was stationed at one of these camps in the El Paraíso region of Honduras. Upon their arrival, they were received by Argentine paramilitary advisors. After completing basic training—which was extremely rudimentary—he was selected by Mr. Gustavo Ojeda (who would become his leader) to join what was then known as a task force.
Valdés claims that he was not chosen for ideological reasons, nor for his skills or intelligence. He was selected because of his psychological profile and criminal history. After undergoing training, He was assigned to an existing task force dedicated to carrying out acts of sabotage and to hunting down—on both sides of the border—individuals identified as collaborators or sympathizers of the Sandinista troops. In reality, they were simply a group of criminals trained to commit crimes.
A few years later, these groups were disbanded following investigations by the Honduran press. For a time, he moved to the city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where he engaged in criminal activities alongside Gustavo Ojeda.
In the mid-1980s, the Chicago Homicide Unit sought Valdés out as the prime suspect in the murder of a drug trafficker. Because of this, he decided to travel to Miami, and through an associate, he set out for Honduras.
In early 1988, shortly after returning from the Contra camps in Honduras, his former task force leader recommended him for a job with a Peruvian drug trafficker named Fernando Chacano in California.
Shortly thereafter, Chacano sent Valdés to Toronto to carry out an assignment.
Once he finished in Toronto, he drove to British Columbia. After crossing the border, he was pulled over by a highway patrol unit. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement officers discovered a hidden compartment. Inside, they found a 9mm Patria pistol and a ballistic vest. He was immediately taken into custody. After being transported to the station, he was positively identified and informed that the Chicago Homicide Unit was looking for him.
Once processed, he was sent to the county jail and assigned a cell with a Canadian citizen named Mike Vukelish—a resident of Surrey, BC—who was facing drug trafficking charges. This is where our chapter begins.
Mike Vukelish and José Raul Pérez Valdés
Days later, Valdés mentioned to Vukelish that his lawyer was doing a poor job, and Mike offered to help him through one of his own attorneys. Several days later, two of Mike's lawyers visited Valdés and had him sign various documents so they could represent him.
That was how Mike Vukelish gained access to his criminal record. It was very easy for them to build mutual trust. Some time later, with the help of one of those lawyers, the judge ruled that several of his rights had been violated during his arrest and determined that Chicago lacked sufficient evidence against him to order extradition. Consequently, he was immediately released. By this time, Mike Vukelish and José Valdés already had plans for the future.
Months later, Vukelish, Tom Sullivan, and Michael Zeke visited Valdés in California. It was on this occasion that he introduced his employer, Fernando Chocano, to Michael Vukelish. Some time later, he was sent to BC, and they began importing cocaine and small shipments of firearms into the province. That is how Valdés ended up in BC...








