However, Tamaulipas Coordination Group’s released a statement that a “joint operation of federal and state forces” rescued the soccer player from his kidnappers after Pulido was able to phone police and let them know about his whereabouts while his captors were distracted.
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Authorities in Tamaulipas tweeted that there was a “special operation” to find the 25-year-old Mexico national team player, who disappeared in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria on Saturday May 28.
The suspect was a 38-year-old from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and the other three suspects were identified, officials said, adding that a search was underway.
Criminal gangs see kidnapping for ransom as a way to make money, and while the wealthy can afford armed bodyguards and live behind gated communities, Mexico’s working-class people don’t have that option, according Isabel Miranda de Wallace, an anti-kidnapping activist in Mexico.
Federal police chief Enrique Galindo gave a somewhat different version of the events in which he said Pulido was released from a safehouse after his captors reached “an agreement” with the authorities.
“At this hard time, our thoughts and prayers are with Alan”, the Olympiakos team tweeted.
Mexico saw another soccer-related kidnapping in 2005, when Cruz Azul’s Argentine coach Ruben Omar Romano was abducted in Mexico City.
Pulido, who hurt his hand breaking a window, made a brief appearance before reporters, but responded only to a question about how he was: “Very well, thank God”.
This is a developing story; more information about Alan Pulido’s kidnapping and rescue will be provided as it becomes available. He left in 2014 to play for a professional team in Greece.
‘The number of reported kidnappings in Tamaulipas is among the highest in Mexico, ‘ the travel warning says.
The player’s Greek club expressed relief over the outcome.
Mexico is a country with one of the world’s worst kidnapping rates, with one estimate putting the number of people taken at around 1,000 people each year.
Pulido’s former club Tigres tweeted its “solidarity” with the Pulido family during a “difficult situation”, while fellow Mexico forward Javier Hernandez also showed his support via the social network.
He signed a four-year contract with Olympiakos last season. He was captive 65 days before being freed by federal police.
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Pulido has won six caps for Mexico since making his debut in 2014, scoring four goals.
