QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The family of Ecuadorian soccer player Jackson Rodríguez was rescued after being kidnapped from their home in the coastal city of Guayaquil, police authorities reported on Friday.
Rodriguez, 26, hid under his bed while his 24-year-old wife and five-year-old son were taken on Wednesday by four “hooded and heavily armed individuals” who forced their way into the home in the Mucho Lote neighborhood.
The wife and son received medical attention following their release and were safe, police commander Pablo Dávila said.
The kidnappers demanded $500,000 for the release of the wife and son but the family refused to pay, Dávila added. Rodriguez is a left back who plays for first division club Emelec.
After police operations late Thursday, officers located the pair in the popular neighborhood of “El Fortín” in the northwest part of the city. The area is considered one of the most dangerous, a place where 22 people were massacred in March.
Guayaquil is 270 kilometers (170 miles) southwest of the capital, Quito.
The kidnapping occurred amid a state of emergency declared 10 days ago by the government in nine areas of the country, including the province of Guayas, to which Guayaquil belongs. The measure allows the mobilization of security forces in those territories to combat the operations of organized crime groups, which authorities blame for the wave of violence.
Insecurity and crime have plagued Ecuador for four years, with an increase in the first few months of the year, according to the government. From January to March, 2,345 violent deaths were reported, 742 of them in Guayaquil.
The port city is considered one of the most dangerous areas in the country. From those ports, illegal drug shipments are sent to Europe, Central America, and the United States, according to authorities.
Other athletes have been targeted in the past. Last December, Liga de Quito soccer player Pedro Perlaza was kidnapped in Esmeraldas, 182 kilometers northwest of Quito, and rescued a few days later.
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The Associated Press
