The authorities billed it as a rescue, but Mexican football player Alan Pulido escaped his kidnappers by punching the one guarding him, snatching a cellphone and calling for help, a top official in the country’s violent northeast said yesterday.
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Pulido was intercepted by a group of attackers after leaving a party late on Saturday night in the notoriously unsafe Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
‘There was an exchange of punches between them, ‘ Quintanilla said, though he did not mention the pistol. He managed to trade blows with his captor, wrestling away a gun and phone.
Quintanilla said Pulido cut his wrist when he broke a window trying to escape.
The police swooped in within minutes and detained one suspect. His girlfriend was not taken and alerted others.
“[I am] very well, thank God”, Pulido told reporters during a news conference.
Prior to his rescue, Olympiakos officials said on Sunday they were in constant contact with the family, as well as with Mexico’s ambassador. “They helped us a lot in this awful experience of our lives that we do not desire for anyone”.
The couple were attacked in the state capital of Cuidad Victoria, an area which has been plagued by violence related to a drug war between rival gangs.
Earlier, Pulido’s family had received two ransom calls from the group of four attackers, one of which is said to be a known member of a criminal organisation in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz. Pulido was being held for ransom by four men but managed to call for help Sunday when he was left alone with one of his abductors.
Mexican Federal Police Commissioner Enrique Galindo said in an interview on Radio Formula Monday that authorities believe the kidnappers were motivated exclusively by the potential financial gain of ransom which was not paid.
Some Tamaulipas roads are so unsafe that the federal police sometimes escort travelers in protective convoys. The actual number is believed to be much higher since most people do not report kidnappings to authorities.
Pulido’s kidnapping shocked his current and former clubs. “We thank everyone for their concern and prayers during the hard moments he has lived”.
In addition to playing for Mexico, Pulido plays for the Greek club team Olympiakos.
Pulido made his professional debut with the club Tigres of Monterrey, Mexico, but after four seasons there signed a 2014 contract with Olympiakos.
Pulido, who was also part of Mexico’s 2014 World Cup squad, injured his right hand in the ordeal, after smashing a glass pane on a locked door as he fled.
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Six years later, the coach of the Mexico City soccer team Cruz Azul was abducted by armed men.
