Major League Baseball player, Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped in his home country of Venezuela. The Washington Nationals catcher was playing in Venezuela during the off season. Ramos was kidnapped yesterday by four gunmen who stormed his house about an hour outside of Caracas. He has not been heard from since and there have been no demands from his kidnappers. This is the first time ever a MLB player has been kidnapped.
When I saw the headline I went noooooo. I am not surpised that this happened I am only surprised it took this long. That said, I bet he owes someone some money, or the kidnappers need money and figure he's got some.
ReplyDeleteHope he is returned safe and sound.
Or he could have offended the Chavez regime, which doesn't take kindly to public or private dissent. I don't know if Ramos has ever said anything, but I'm never surprised by the possibility of dictatorships doing horrific things to the people they keep in bondage.
ReplyDeleteHow terrifying.
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ReplyDeleteWOW sevenmack- way to be bias and narrow minded about Hugo Chavez!
ReplyDeleteThe man does more for his people in one little pinky than many of our presidents have ever done.
Here's but ONE example:
Once he shooed off some big buisness oil company (which was degradating the land and disenfranchising the surrounding people) he turned the abandoned oil plant into a free school for everybody. It was gutted and completely refurbished and thousands have benefited from this free resource.
So lets not be so quick to blame such a 'dictator' okay?
God,it's like you're linking him to the horrible dictators ala KimJong il. Be a little more open minded about whats going down and spend less time listening to the Western media who has an ax to grind with Chavez because he refuses to allow them to do their big oil thing on his land.
Or it could just be that the kidnappers want money. During the Depression here, in the United States, kidnappings happened frequently precisely for this reason (people were desperate for money -- I can't remember if the Lindberg baby was this type of kidnapping but it was very common). South of the United States such kidnappings continue to this day, might not have anything to do with drugs or Chavez but just big $$.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to speculate - prayers for his safe return.
ReplyDeleteI hope they find him safe and sound. They said that a MLB'er's son was kidnapped in the past, but he was found o.k. : (
ReplyDeleteI'm with BigMama - too early to speculate, wish for his safe return pronto!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing a kidnapping for money.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Jasmine, but I must ask...are you familiar with Venezuelan policy and his regime? Please read up before you defend him. It would be greatly appreciated. It seems as if you would be generalizing on the minimal amount of positive propaganda. As someone who is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about this particular DICTATOR, it offends me. He is known for many undercover operations that are illegal, immoral and unethical; he has been responsible for multitudes of human rights violations. He learns from his buddies, the Castro brothers.
ReplyDeleteVenezuela is a zest pool of corruption and impunity for people in the government. Venezuela is a very dangerous country. I doubt that is tied to drugs. Kidnapping for money it has existed since the 80's. He most probably made a derogatory comment against Chavez or someone close to him.
ReplyDeleteThis is horrifying. I pray all goes well and that he is returned safely.
ReplyDeletebluebonnet I remember it was Yorvit Torrealba's son. I wonder if they will get rid of the Venezuelan Fall League now. I just can't imagine being a family member/friend of his it has to be horrifying.
ReplyDeleteI did read that he is still alive. Most likely the kidnappers threatened his family if they told anyone other than those who need to know that he is still alive.
i can't even comment here...too close to home. anyone that thinks hugo is a benevolent master, and not the puppet to puppet-master Fidel...well, i just have no words.
ReplyDeletei shall leave this thread now.
This is so scary to read. My husband played profession baseball in Venezuela back in 2004 and he always said it was a concern for players. They had armored cars take them to and from the field with police escorts and each player had their own bodyguard when they traveled and during games in case a riot broke out. I had no idea how dangerous the country was until he go back-- or I wouldn't of let him go!!!!
ReplyDeletePraying they find Ramos safely
@lissette:
ReplyDeletelet's not pretend as though the CIA and other american political organization aren't involved in human rights violations.
tis annoying when someone is harangued for their opinion of an individual who is vilified by much of western media.
this isn't to say that chavez is a saint, but is more to suggest that we shouldn't pretend as though the american secret service is somehow more "right" in their behavior than those in developing nations.
it's likely that the latter doesn't have the money available to cover up their atrocities, not that they are tangibly all the more evil.
Now, Jasmine, I'm supposed to be a fan of dictators who repress their people? Come the hell on. Chavez has shut down newspapers and other media outlets, has basically turned the nation into a one-party state, and ended free elections. He's a scumbag and no better than other dictators such as Gaddafi, Hitler, and Chairman Mao.
ReplyDeleteAnd, sorry, his PR crap doesn't make up for the repression of people who deserve to be free. I'm no big fan of Amnesty International, but they are right to call this nation on the carpet for death threats against human rights activists and the stifling of dissent (http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/venezuela).
If you can endorse such a man, than you don't deserve neither freedom nor security. Thank heavens you're view is a minority in this country -- or else we'd all be in trouble.
@Erin z- WELL SAID
ReplyDeleteJust saying, Chávez was elected by Venezuelans back in 1999 in normal elections, thus he is not a dictator. You might dislike his policies, his corruption, how he runs Venezuela, but he's certainly not a dictator. I am Argentine, we suffered a 7 year long, bloody, violent military dictatorship between 1976-1983. Thirty thousand people were "disappeared" and murdered. So please don't use such terms lightly. That being said, I hope Ramos can return to his family safe and sound.
ReplyDelete@cat, Jasmine and @erin z. - You Three Are All Nuts! Read up a bit on Senor Chavez, before defending him. What has gone on in Venezuela and the destruction of their democratic institutions is a tragedy. At one time, Chavez may have used the oil wealth for the betterment of the populace, but not lately.
ReplyDelete@aly: re-read my comment. at no point do i defend chavez, primarily because the topic of my comment is the american govt. if you are going to call someone "nuts", you may want to actually read/understand/comprehend what has been said.
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