The Hotwash Presents: Vietnam Navy Veteran, "El Hefe Ruben", Ruben Archuleta

Ruben Archuleta was born in Antonito, Colorado.  Since Ruben's parents were continually on the move 
while working in the fields and potato warehouses his paternal grandparents assumed the responsibility of 
providing a stable family environment for him.  Ruben grew up in an adobe house covered with a dirt roof, 
no indoor plumbing, and was heated in the winter with a wood cook stove and heater.

In 1962, at the age of seventeen, Ruben graduated from Antonito High School and joined the Navy.  After a 
tour of duty in Vietnam, and upon completion of his four-year hitch with the military, he attended Southern 
Colorado State College in Pueblo, Colorado.  He maintained his ties with the Navy and Air Force as a 
reservist for fifteen years.   While attending college, Ruben joined the Pueblo, Colorado Police Department 
in 1968 and eventually obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from CSU-Pueblo.

During his tenure as a police captain, Ruben was trained by the U.S. Secret Service in Arizona and 
Washington, D.C. and  he worked with the Secret Service assisting in the protection of political  
dignitaries.  This included U.S. Presidents, vice-presidents, first ladies, presidential hopefuls, and high 
profile Senators.  Ruben worked with, and befriended Hollywood stars and sports figures and he still stays 
in contact with some of them.  Ruben applied his fluency in the Russian language when he was assigned to 
work with the Soviets as law enforcement security liaison during the implementation of the INF Treaty.  This 
treaty called for the destruction of specific ballistic missiles by the United States and the Soviet Union. 

www.eljeferuben.com