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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/07/security.expert.kidnap/index.html
Kidnapped security expert's family ends silenceStory Highlights
Felix Batista last seen in Saltillo, Mexico, on December 10
By Rich Phillips
CNN Senior Producer
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Felix Batista disappeared December 10 from a
restaurant in Mexico -- a case that made international headlines
because of its irony. The anti-kidnapping expert was kidnapped,
authorities said, and no one has heard from him since.
Anti-kidnapping expert Felix Batista has been missing nearly a month.
He's believed to have been abducted.
Batista's family members, who live in Miami, Florida, have not
heard from him or his kidnappers. There have been no demands for
ransom. No contact at all.
"We don't make anything of that. We just want to know his whereabouts
as soon as possible," said his sister, Jackie Batista.
Batista, an internationally known American security consultant, has
successfully negotiated the release of kidnapping victims throughout
Latin America.
"He's always been a professional at what he does," his sister said.
He arrived December 6 in Saltillo, Mexico, about 250 miles south of
the U.S. border, to take part in a security seminar about kidnappings.
The FBI has been working with Mexican law enforcement to determine
what happened, and to bring Batista home safely. The U.S. embassy in
Mexico has not returned CNN's calls, nor has Mexico's Ministry of the
Interior. The FBI won't officially confirm it is working on the case.
The Batista family, however, is talking. Family members will make a
public appeal in Miami later today.
"We just want to get some news and would like to make a public plea,
and in return, we hope to get some answers," Jackie Batista told CNN
in a telephone interview.
Batista was in a restaurant with several other people when he
received a phone call, according to a written statement released by
the state attorney general's office in Saltillo.
After speaking on the telephone, he told his colleagues that several
people in a white pickup truck were going to give him a message, said
the statement. He got into a vehicle which did not match the
description he had given his colleagues. Since then, no one has had
any communication with him.
The statement said there was no sign of violence at the scene.
"The fact that he was purposely picked up, and they haven't reached
out to family is certainly worrisome", said Gary Noesner, the former
chief of the FBI crisis negotiation unit who now works as a security
and kidnapping consultant.
"Typically you would get contact sooner, but sometimes kidnappers
wait a period of time. They use that as a pressure tactic," Noesner
added. "I would have thought they would have had contact by now."
He added, "The family wants to be contacted. There is a bit of a good
news story if they are contacted, because that opens up a dialogue --
and that is a recipe for a resolution."
Mexico has seen an alarming rise in kidnappings and violence.
Organized crime and drug related killings more than doubled from 2007 to 2008.
President Felipe Calderon met over the summer with the country's 32
governors to unveil a plan to combat the increase in kidnappings. The
plan includes building special prisons for kidnappers. And, a
constitutional amendment to reinstate the death penalty for
kidnappers who kill their captives has been sent to Mexico's legislature.
Experts believe that people in Mexico who have relatives in the
United States are specifically being targeted because it's assumed
they have money.
"What kidnappers basically do, is look at who has money that we can
get", said Noesner, the security consultant. "They will go after
anyone who they perceive will provide a payoff."
Felix Batista worked as a retained consultant for ASI Global LLC, a
global kidnap and ransom response company, for 18 months.
"He is an extremely gifted and talented consultant and has worked in
the region for many, many years," said company President Charlie LeBlanc.
Since Batista's kidnapping, the company has had representatives with
the Batista family to help them through the crisis, he said.
"The fact that we have not had contact is not necessarily a bad sign.
We've had cases in the past that have gone much longer without
contact," he said.
But almost a month has passed since Batista's disappearance and that
is not a good sign, the experts cautioned.
"It becomes more problematic when there's not contact from the bad
guys. You're very limited as to what you can do," Noesner said.
"Its far too early to say, 'This is typical,' but I'd be concerned," he added.
But perhaps the Batista family can find some solace in the words of
Felix Batista himself. In an interview with TV Azteca, a CNN
affiliate based in Mexico City, he offered some advice to the
families and loved ones of a kidnapping victims.
"Stay calm and ask them [the kidnappers] for time. Time to do two
things -- to look for the missing person if possible, and confirm
that it is in fact a kidnapping."
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST