The headline says it all

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081215/..._mexico_kidnap

U.S. anti-kidnap expert kidnapped in Mexico


Mon Dec 15, 2:47 pm ET
Gloria Valles, 30, left, and her daughter Perla Valles, 10, wait for evening AP – Gloria Valles, 30, left, and her daughter Perla Valles, 10, wait for evening classes to begin outside …

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) – Mexican gunmen have kidnapped a U.S. security consultant who negotiated the release of dozens of kidnap victims in Latin America.

Gunmen abducted Felix Batista outside a restaurant last Wednesday in the relatively safe northern industrial city of Saltillo in Coahuila state, Mexican authorities and his employer, security consultancy ASI Global, said on Monday.

Batista, a Miami-based Cuban American credited with negotiating the release of victims abducted by Colombian rebels, was snatched after he stepped outside the restaurant, answering a call on his cellular phone, Mexican media said.

The U.S. embassy in Mexico City said it was investigating and declined to comment further.

"He may have been targeted by organized crime in an attempt to show their power. Saltillo is not a kidnapping hot spot," said a source at Coahuila state attorney general's office.

Batista's employer, Houston-based ASI Global, denied Mexican media reports that he was a former FBI agent and said he was on a private trip in Coahuila state near Texas, giving seminars on security.

"We have requested help from the FBI and the Mexican authorities," said ASI Global's President Charlie LeBlanc.

Hundreds of people are kidnapped in Mexico every year and the number of victims has increased sharply as drug gangs, under pressure from President Felipe Calderon's army-backed crackdown, seek new revenues to fund their operations.

Coahuila lawmakers last week sent a bill to Mexico's Congress to change the constitution to allow the death penalty for kidnappers who kill their captives.

More than 5,300 people have been killed in drug violence across Mexico this year as cartels fight each other over smuggling routes to the United States and clash with Mexican security forces seeking to restore security.

I wonder if he can negotiate his own release?

I've attached some other headlines that I enjoy.

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Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

I've attached some other headlines that I enjoy.

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:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Those are great!

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Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

I've attached some other headlines that I enjoy.

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ROFL--literally!!

Guns in a gun shop? Kookie.

Guillermo del Toro (director of Hellboy and Pans Labrynth) is a native Mexican who will no longer film in Mexico due to this issue. His father was kidnapped and held for ransom. He fears that the same could happen to him.

I am of the opinion that Mexico could someday be a place (like todays Florida or Arizona) where Americans retire. However, unless they fix the big crime problem they have it won't happen.

I am half Mexican and have family who travels from California to Mexico often and the country is just crazy right now. I wouldn't travel there under any circumstances right now.

I used to live in Mexico, and I received a good deal of threats, but I just kept my mouth shut, and nothing too bad ever happened. However, I wouldn't have felt comfortable with my family visiting me.

I just got back from Mexico a few weeks ago. I had heard a lot about the cartels and was frequently offered drugs when visiting a world famous shopping district... Had 1 close call where I went into a shop and was asked to come view some merchandise. I was being led to the back of the shop, suddenly another larger "employee" behind me. I quickly turned off and found a route out of the store ASAP. Other than that though, it seemed pretty safe, although I was around resort areas for most of the other time.

Is this really a problem?

http://www.longridersgear.com/catalo...utt-Powder.jpg

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Originally Posted by GAC

Is this really a problem?

http://www.longridersgear.com/catalo...utt-Powder.jpg

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Only problem is the red x :p: