Victims' families ask kidnappers for pity

By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 25, 2006

TIJUANA – Underscoring the desperation of families whose loved ones have been kidnapped, announcements are being published in Mexican newspapers asking for their release this holiday season.

The letter, signed in the name of “families of kidnap victims,” implores the kidnappers to have pity and give them “the best Christmas gift: returning them with life so we can reunite.”

The announcements were submitted by the Consejo Ciudadano de Seguridad Pública del Estado, a state citizens advisory committee, after the group's president met with four families of kidnap victims.

“Can you imagine our suffering to pass a Christmas without one of our sons, brothers or fathers who has been kidnapped, taken by force from their families? It's horrible,” reads the letter, which also includes the name of the committee.

Kidnappings have become a growing problem in Baja California in recent years. U.S. and Mexican authorities say part of the reason is the region's Arellano Félix drug cartel is relying on kidnappings to earn extra money.