U.S. anti-kidnapping expert kidnapped in northern Mexico

MEXICO CITY -- A U.S. anti-kidnapping expert was abducted by gunmen in northern Mexico last week, a sign of just how bold this nation's kidnapping gangs have become.

U.S. security consultant Felix Batista was in Saltillo in Coahuila state to offer advice on how to confront abductions for ransom when he was snatched by unknown assailants Wednesday, said Charlie LeBlanc, the president of the Houston, Texas-based security firm ASI Global LLC, where Batista is a consultant.

"We have notified the FBI and Mexican authorities, and they are working on the case," Le­Blanc said Monday.

"What we are doing is we're offering our support to the family and hoping for the best."

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said it would not comment on the case, and LeBlanc declined to say whether a ransom demand had been received.

LeBlanc said Batista had his own security business and that "he was in Mexico for business that wasn't associated with our company."

Batista's work involved crisis management consulting, LeBlanc said. "Part of that could be or may involve negotiations with kidnappers."

ASI Global's website advertises "kidnap and ransom response" and says the company has worked for major insurance companies.

Kidnapping has become a rising problem in Mexico, but attacks on U.S. anti-crime consultants have largely been the stuff of movies. The seizure seems to echo the plot of a 2004 movie, "Man on Fire," in which Denzel Washington played a U.S. security consultant who takes on Mexican kidnappers and is abducted himself.

A series of high-profile kidnappings in which the victims were later found dead has sparked outrage in Mexico. In the past year, the bodies of daughter of the country's former sports commissioner and the son of a prominent businessman have been found.

Coahuila's governor set off a nationwide controversy by proposing to reinstate the death penalty for kidnappers who kill their victims. Mexico outlawed the death penalty in 2005 and abandoned it in practice decades ago.

Coahuila state law enforcement officials who were not authorized to be quoted by name said Batista had been giving talks to local police officials and businessmen on how to prevent or avoid kidnappings.

They said he apparently was snatched from a street outside a restaurant.

A profile of Batista posted -- and later removed -- from the ASI Global Web site described him as "the primary case officer for all cases throughout the Latin American region."

The site said Batista was a former U.S. Army major who is "known for conducting in-depth threat assessments, the successful resolution of nearly 100 kidnap and ransom cases (many on behalf of major insurance carriers) and investigations."

The company denied local media reports that Batista was a former FBI agent, and warned those reports could put his life at risk.

"We at ASI are very concerned for Felix's safety and would like to take this opportunity of stating categorically that Felix has never been an agent in the FBI," the company said in a statement.