Kidnapped Mexican striker Pulido escaped by punching captor:
official
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[May 31, 2016]
By Natalie Ann Schachar
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The
authorities billed it as a rescue, but Mexican soccer 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 on Monday.
State security forces located Pulido within minutes of his call
from a safe house in the restive city of Ciudad Victoria in
Tamaulipas state, as they were scouring the area nearby, state
prosecutor Ismael Quintanilla told local radio.
The 25-year-old Mexico national team striker who also plays
professionally with the Greek team Olympiakos disappeared in his
hometown on Saturday night, when he was intercepted by gunmen after
leaving a party with his girlfriend.
Pulido called Mexico’s emergency services around midnight on Sunday
after the fistfight. He then cut his wrist trying to open a locked
glass door, Quintanilla said.
"There was an exchange of blows between them," Quintanilla said. "At
some point he was able to make a call."
Police have detained the captor, one of least four involved, who
belonged to a criminal gang. It was unclear whether they were
connected to the feared Zetas drug cartel, which controls much of
the state.
In the early hours of Monday, Tamaulipas Governor Egidio Torre Cantu
appeared on local television, flanked by Pulido, congratulating
security forces for rescuing him.
The player was wearing a multicolored T-shirt and shorts and had a
bandage wrapped around his right hand.
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Mexico's striker Alan Pulido (L) is seen next to Tamaulipas State
Governor Egidio Torre Cantu after Pulido has been rescued within a
day in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas State, Mexico May
30, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer
Pulido was in a "good state of health," and was with his family
after receiving medical and psychological attention.
Tamaulipas, which abuts the U.S. state of Texas, is an especially
violent area of Mexico, which is grappling with grisly drug gang
violence.
Pulido was a member of the Mexican national team that competed in
the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He has also played for the Greek team
Levadiakos and the Mexican club Tigres.
(Reporting by Simon Gardner and Michael O'Boyle; editing by Dan
Grebler and G Crosse)
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