Abducted Mexican politician released after seven months

Mexico City, Dec 21 (IANS/EFE) Former Mexican presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos was released by his abductors after seven months in captivity, a media report said.

“He is in good health, he is weak. He spent seven months and six days in captivity,” a news show on the Televisa network reported Monday.

“The news is that Diego Fernandez de Cevallos has returned to his home. He is weak but strong over having been released after this extremely long abduction, which is undoubtedly the longest registered in Mexico,” the report said.

Fernandez de Cevallos, 68, a senior member of the ruling National Action Party (PAN), was the conservative party’s presidential candidate in the 1994 elections.

He disappeared May 14 from his La Cabaa ranch near San Clemente town in Queretaro. His vehicle was found at the entrance to the ranch’s garage, with traces of blood inside.

A group calling itself Misteriosos Desaparecedores (Mysterious Disappearers) claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and released four statements during the time they held the politician.

The group issued a statement late Sunday, titled “Epilogo de una desaparicion” (Epilogue to a Disappearance), announcing Fernandez de Cevallos’s imminent release.

–IANS/EFE