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Mexican politician released in Mexico

27 November 2010 15:20 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ramil Mammadli â€“ APA. Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a prominent Mexican politician and former presidential candidate who was kidnapped in May, has been released. Members of the politicianâ€™s family said Fernandez, who belongs to President Felipe Calderonâ€™s ruling party, was released on Friday night. The family paid a ransom of around $20 million. "Everything is fine, he is OK and everything came out well," the family was quoted as saying. Officials at the Attorney Generalâ€™s office were not immediately available for comment. Cigar-chomping Fernandez, a 69-year-old lawyer known for his outspoken personality, was abducted in central Mexico more than six months ago as he arrived at his ranch late at night. His car was found with some of his belongings inside and blood on a pair of scissors thrown on the ground nearby.
In the following months, his captors released pictures to the media of a blindfolded, bearded man who greatly resembled Fernandez in an apparent move to pressure the politicianâ€™s family to pay for his release. Kidnapping of corporate executives, public officials and ordinary citizens is rife in Mexico, which is in the grip of a deadly fight against drug traffickers and organized crime gangs. Drug gang violence has killed some 31,000 people since Calderonâ€™s term began in December 2006.