The kidnapping ordeal of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos ended after two days when Venezuelan police commandos rescued him in a flurry of gunfire and arrested four alleged abductors.  Read more after the jump.
Ramos said that he was happy and thankful to be alive, and that the final moments Friday had been hair-raising as the police and the kidnappers exchanged fire in the remote mountainous area where he was being held.
“It was very hard for me,†Ramos told reporters Saturday morning at a police station in his hometown, Valencia. “It was very hard for my family.â€
His eyes tearing up with emotion, Ramos hugged Venezuela’s interior minister and the police and National Guard officials at the police station.
Ramos, 24, had not been seen or heard from since he was seized at gunpoint outside his home in Valencia on Wednesday night and whisked away in a sport utility vehicle. It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, and the abduction set off an outpouring of candlelight vigils and public prayers at stadiums as well as outside Ramos’s home.
With Ramos at his side, Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami said Saturday that authorities had arrested four of the captors, all of them Venezuelan men in their 20s. A 60-year-old woman and 74-year-old man were also arrested for supplying the kidnappers with food from their home in the area, he said.
The authorities are still searching for four Colombian men who escaped during the rescue, El Aissami said.
He did no say whether anyone had been wounded in the gunfire.
Ramos said the kidnappers had made clear to him that they had been following his movements for some time. He said that the shooting lasted for about 15 minutes and that he had taken cover.
“They only demanded money,†he said.
Speaking by telephone to state television earlier Saturday, Ramos said: “I don’t know who those people were. I know they’re Colombians by their accent. Three guys grabbed me there in front of my house, they took me to another S.U.V. and from there they took me into the mountains†in central Carabobo state.
He said his abductors spoke little to him. “They simply told me to cooperate, that they were going to ask for a ton of cash for me.â€
“They put me in a room with a bed; I was lying there,†he said. “It was hard for me to think about, if I was going to get out alive first of all, about how my family, my mother were.â€
Ramos was to first undergo medical checks at the police station, then be reunited with his family, El Aissami said Friday.
Ramos’s mother, Maria Campos de Ramos, celebrated, exclaiming on television, “Thanks to God!â€
“Thanks to my country, to my neighbors and to my family, who were supporting us,†she said. Shortly afterward, she spoke with her son by phone and said jubilantly, “He’s fine.â€
Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo hailed the news.
“I am happy to announce that I have spoken directly with Wilson and he assures me he is unharmed but eager to be reunited with his family,†Rizzo said in a statement. “He asked me to thank all who played a role in his rescue, and all those who kept him and his family in their thoughts and prayers. I join Wilson in thanking the many law enforcement officials in Venezuela and investigators with Major League Baseball who worked tirelessly to ensure a positive ending to what has been a frightening ordeal.â€
Ramos had recently returned to his homeland after his rookie year with the Nationals to play during the off-season in the Venezuelan league.
“As soon as I feel all right, I’m going to start playing,†Ramos said early Saturday.
