Venezuela: Major leaguer Wilson Ramos kidnapped

Venezuela: Major leaguer Wilson Ramos kidnapped

Wilson Ramos was kidnapped at gunpoint from his mother’s home in Venezuela last night.

Wilson Ramos, one of the Washington Nationals’ most promising young baseball players, was kidnapped at gunpoint Wednesday night from his family’s home in Venezuela, leaving the team in a state of shock and raising questions about the safety of playing in a country ravaged in recent years by kidnappings and street crime.

The 24-year-old Ramos, the starting catcher for the Nationals, had returned to his native country for the winter and planned to participate in roughly 10 games for his Venezuelan winter league team, the Aragua Tigers, starting Thursday.

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Wednesday evening, four armed men arrived at Ramos’s mother’s house in the Santa Ines sector of the central city of Valencia, and took Ramos away, according to multiple news reports out of Venezuela.

While Ramos is the first major league player to have been kidnapped,

Ramos is believed to be the most high-profile baseball player kidnapped in Venezuela, but the rash of abductions has touched the baseball world there before. In 2008, the brother of Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Henry Blanco was kidnapped and killed, his body found a day after he was taken. In 2009, Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba paid a ransom to get his son back, and pitcher Victor Zambrano’s mother was rescued in a raid.

Additionally (h/t Obi’s Sister),

There has been an alarming increase in the number of kidnappings in that country since 2006, when the Venezuelan National Counter Kidnapping Commission was founded. Violent crime is pervasive in Venezuela, where the per capita murder rate ranks it among the top five in the world, according to the U.S. State Department Consular Affairs Bureau. In 2009, kidnappings increased 40-60 percent from the preview year, the State Department says, a majority of which are not reported to the police.

Venezuela’s minister of the interior stated that the kidnapper’s car was found. The investigation continues.

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By John Grieshop, AFP/Getty Images

UPDATE, 2:15 ET: The Washington Post reports that Venezuelan police say the vehicle used to kidnap Ramos was found 25 miles west of Valencia. Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said: "We have the duty to find who is responsible and to rescue this countryman of ours, safe and sound."

UPDATE 12:55 p.m. ET: MLB and the Washington Nationals have released a joint statement regarding Wilson Ramos:

Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations is working with the appropriate authorities on this matter. Both Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals have been instructed to make no further comment.

UPDATE 10:34 p.m. ET: Officials in Venezuela say they have found the vehicle four armed men used to kidnap Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos.

The Associated Press cites a Venezuelan official who says the abandoned vehicle was found in a nearby town and police are in the process of gathering evidence.

EARLIER: Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped in his home country of Venezuela.

Ramos, 24, was approached by four armed men near his home in Santa Ines on Wednesday night and taken away in a car, according to El Nacional, a Venezuelan newspaper.

Ramos' Venezuelan winter league team, Tigres de Aragua, has also confirmed the kidnapping on Twitter.

"This is sad, worrisome and true that Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped," team spokeswoman Katherine Vilera said via Twitter.

According to the Associated Press, judicial police in Venezuela said the gunmen entered Ramos' home.

The Nationals have not issued any official statement on the kidnapping.

Several MLB players, including Nationals pitchers Colin Balester and Drew Storen, as well as Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain have also sent out messages of concern and support on Twitter.

"Extremely upsetting news about Ramo. Thoughts and prayers with him. Scary situation," tweeted Storen.

Ramos was acquired by the Nationals from the Minnesota Twins at the 2010 trade deadline for pitcher Matt Capps. He hit .267 in his first full season with the Nationals in 2011 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 113 games.