Felix Batista
Encyclopedia
Felix Batista is a Cuban-American anti-kidnapping
expert and former U.S. Army major
who has negotiated
resolution to nearly 100 kidnapping and ransom
cases, dozens of them in Mexico. Batista is a consultant for Houston, Texas
-based security firm ASI Global. In December 2008, he was kidnapped in Mexico.
, Coahuila
, Mexico
by unknown assailants while there to speak and give anti-kidnapping advice.
Batista was in a restaurant with several other people when he received a phone call, according to a written statement released by the state attorney general's office in Saltillo.
After speaking on the telephone, he told his colleagues that several people in a white pickup were going to give him a message, said the statement. He got into a vehicle which did not match the description he had given his colleagues. Since then, no one has had any communication with him and no one has ever claimed responsibility for his kidnapping.
The statement said there was no sign of violence at the scene.
Currently, the Batista family are trying to petition for U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to speak about the ongoing violence and the safety of Americans.
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
expert and former U.S. Army major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
who has negotiated
Hostage negotiator
Crisis negotiation is a technique for law enforcement to communicate with people who are threatening violence, including barricaded subjects, hostage takers, stalkers, threats, workplace violence, or persons threatening suicide....
resolution to nearly 100 kidnapping and ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
cases, dozens of them in Mexico. Batista is a consultant for Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
-based security firm ASI Global. In December 2008, he was kidnapped in Mexico.
Kidnapping
On December 10, 2008, Batista was kidnapped outside a restaurant in SaltilloSaltillo
Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
, Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
by unknown assailants while there to speak and give anti-kidnapping advice.
Batista was in a restaurant with several other people when he received a phone call, according to a written statement released by the state attorney general's office in Saltillo.
After speaking on the telephone, he told his colleagues that several people in a white pickup were going to give him a message, said the statement. He got into a vehicle which did not match the description he had given his colleagues. Since then, no one has had any communication with him and no one has ever claimed responsibility for his kidnapping.
The statement said there was no sign of violence at the scene.
Currently, the Batista family are trying to petition for U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to speak about the ongoing violence and the safety of Americans.