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      CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan authorities said Friday
they are confident they can quickly solve the kidnapping of
Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos.


      The abduction Wednesday night was the first known kidnapping of
a major leaguer in a country that has dozens of players on big
league rosters, and it has brought a renewed focus on rising
violent crime in Venezuela.


      Deputy Justice Minister Edwin Rojas said investigators were
making progress in gathering evidence and had physical descriptions
of the kidnappers based on the accounts of witnesses.


      "We have faith in the quick resolution of this case," Rojas
told state television. He said President Hugo Chavez's government
"is working 24 hours a day to solve this case."


      Armed men seized Ramos at gunpoint outside his home in a
working-class neighborhood in the city of Valencia. Authorities
said Thursday that they had found a stolen SUV used by the
kidnappers abandoned in a nearby town. Police spread out searching
for clues in the area.


      Venezuelan security expert Luis Cedeno said Ramos' abductors
probably belong to one of the country's highly organized criminal
groups that focus on high-profile kidnappings, and are likely to
demand a large ransom.


      "It's a very sophisticated, well-planned kidnapping," said
Cedeno, who leads the Venezuelan organization Paz Activa, which
monitors crime issues.


      He said judging from previous cases, the ordeal might last
months. In one case last year, banker German Garcia Velutini was
freed after more than 11 months in captivity, following
negotiations and what police said was payment of an unspecified
sum.


      In such high-profile kidnappings, Cedeno said, the abductors are
generally "men who carry out one or two kidnappings a year and
they plan it very, very well."


      "The motivation is totally economic, so it wouldn't make much
sense for them to kill the player," Cedeno said, though he noted
that in some cases it has happened.


      Neighbors held a candlelight vigil Thursday night outside Ramos'
home and prayed for him, as did fans at a baseball game in
Valencia.


      At games in three Venezuelan stadiums Thursday night, players
and fans observed a minute of silence. Some held signs reading:
"Free Wilson Ramos!"


      Teams added green to their uniforms, some sporting a green
ribbon on one shoulder, others a green "W" for Wilson embroidered
on their jerseys.


      Katherine Vilera, a spokeswoman for Ramos' Venezuelan team the
Aragua Tigres, posted a message Friday morning on Twitter saying:
"The kidnappers haven't made contact. All that's left is to be
patient, pray and have faith."


      In Washington, some fans held a vigil Friday evening outside
Nationals Park, the stadium where Ramos' major league team plays.


      Someone posted red signs reading "Free No. 3" - a reference to
Ramos' uniform number. The gathering was organized by fans via
social media sites such as Twitter.


      A total of 87 Venezuelan played in Major League Baseball during
at least part of the last season, and some return in the offseason
to play with Venezuelan teams.


      Security has increasingly become a concern for Venezuelan
players and their families as a rising wave of kidnappings has hit
the wealthy as well as the middle class.


      Bodyguards typically shadow major leaguers when they return to
their homeland to play in the winter league, though it was unclear
what precautions if any Ramos was taking while at his family's
home.


      Major League Baseball officials said it's the first kidnapping
of a major leaguer they can recall.


      Ramos' agent Gustavo Marcano said the catcher, who had returned
to Venezuela after his rookie season, was just outside the front
door of house with his father and two brothers when the SUV
approached with four men inside, three of whom got out and seized
the player.


      Polls consistently show rampant crime as Venezuelans' top
concern. The country has one of the highest murder rates in Latin
America, and the vast majority of crimes go unsolved by
authorities.


      Venezuelans tend to blame societal and bureaucratic failures for
the crime problem, which existed long before Chavez was elected in
1998. Still, Ramos' kidnapping could become a political issue for
Chavez, who is up for re-election in October 2012.


      The country's opposition coalition said in a statement that
Ramos' abduction is another sign of Venezuela's unchecked violence,
adding that the underlying cause is "this government's
negligence."


      Chavez's government has created a new national police force and
in 2009 passed a revised law that stiffened prison sentences for
kidnapping.


      Even so, the number of kidnappings has soared in recent years.
In 1998, just 52 kidnappings were reported. Last year, police said
there were 618 kidnappings reported in 2009.


      Cedeno's organization cites other figures showing there were 895
abductions reported in 2010. He and other security experts say the
real number of cases is actually much higher because many
abductions are never reported to authorities.


      Relatives of several Venezuelan major leaguers have previously
been kidnapped, and in two cases have been killed.


      In 2009, the mother of former major league pitcher Victor
Zambrano was rescued in a commando-style operation three days after
she was abducted. A cousin of Zambrano had been kidnapped a few
days earlier, and was later killed.


      Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba's 11-year-old son and
brother-in-law were kidnapped in 2009 and released a day later.


      A brother of Venezuelan catcher Henry Blanco, who now plays for
the Arizona Diamondbacks, was kidnapped and killed in 2008.


      The mother of two-time All-Star pitcher Ugueth Urbina spent more
than five months in captivity until she was rescued in early 2005.

Gallery

Crime, Law and Justice

Venezuelan authorities said they are confident they can quickly solve the kidnapping of
Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos.

Venezuela hunts for Ramos and his kidnappers

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