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    November 12, 2011

Baseball Player Says Abductors Hurt Him 'Psychologically'

   VOA News
   Washington Nationals' catcher Wilson Ramos, left, is seen at the
   Criminal Police (CICPC) headquarters accompanied by Venezuela's Justice
   Minister Tareck El Aissami in Valencia, Venezuela, November 12, 2011.
   Photo: AP
   Washington Nationals' catcher Wilson Ramos, left, is seen at the
   Criminal Police (CICPC) headquarters accompanied by Venezuela's Justice
   Minister Tareck El Aissami in Valencia, Venezuela, November 12, 2011.

   U.S. Major League Baseball player Wilson Ramos, 24, says those who
   kidnapped him in Venezuela last Wednesday had "greatly" hurt him
   "psychologically."
   The catcher for the Washington Nationals was rescued by Venezuelan
   police on Friday, two days after he was abducted by armed men from a
   family home in the city of Valencia.
   Ramos told Venezuela's Globovision television station Saturday that his
   abductors had not harmed him physically. The Venezuelan national said
   he would start playing baseball again as soon as he feels good.
   Venezuelan officials said President Hugo Chavez had authorized a rescue
   operation by air, and that at least three people had been detained.
   Venezuela's information minister said Ramos was found in the
   mountainous region of Montalban.
   Ramos had recently returned to his homeland, after his first year with
   the Nationals, to play in Venezuela with his winter league team, the
   Aragua Tigers.
   Relatives of U.S. major league players have been kidnapped in Venezuela
   in recent years, but not players themselves.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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