‘Libby’ now free; Younger Piña returns after early-morning release; no news on Piña Jr., Cantu
By TRICIA CORTEZ, LAREDO MORNING TIMES 12/16/2006
Almost three weeks after being abducted in a harrowing, armed attack involving 30 to 50 masked men, Librado “Libby” Piña III, 25, was released early Friday morning. The whereabouts of his father, Librado Jr., 49, and the ranch cook, Marcos Cantu of Nuevo Laredo, kidnapped in the same raid, are still unknown.
Sources say the younger Piña was released between 12:30 and 1 a.m. at one of the two downtown bridges that span the Rio Grande into Nuevo Laredo.
“We’re happy that my nephew is back, and all I can say is that he’s in great spirits,” Piña’s uncle, Eddie, said Friday. “He told us that it was all the people’s prayers who got him through all of that.”
Eddie Piña declined to comment further on any details, including his nephew’s condition.
“They still have my brother pending, so it’s a critical time,” he said. “We’re just hoping and praying he will come home soon.”
A law enforcement official close to the case asked not to be identified, but said the situation “is getting very intense.”
The source said, “A lot is happening right now and we don’t want to do anything to upset what’s going on.”
Piña Jr. is a well-known business owner and licensed U.S. Customs broker in Laredo.
On the night of Nov. 27, armed men entered the elder Piña Jr.’s ranch, La Barranca de los Apaches, in the Mexican State of Coahuila, on the highway to Piedras Negras, about 30 miles northwest of the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge.
After ransacking and emptying the ranch house of all contents that Sunday night, the gang kidnapped Piña Jr., his son, Libby, the ranch cook, Marcos Cantu of Nuevo Laredo, and two visiting hunters.
The two hunters, David Mueller of west Texas and Felix Rodriguez Cerdan of the Monterrey area, were released three days later in the middle of the night on a country road in Mexico.
Eddie Piña and other family members have appeared on CNN and local television stations the last two weeks to make pleas to the kidnappers to make contact with the Piña family to negotiate the safe return of their loved ones.
FBI officials say 60 U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in this area of the border since 2004, and 21 cases remain unresolved.
(Tricia Cortez may be reached at (956) 728-2568 or by e-mail at tricia@lmtonline.com)
"Don't be too optomistic, the light at the end of the tunnel MAY be an oncoming TRAIN!"
Interesting???
"He told us that it was all the people’s prayers who got him through all of that.”
That and the ransom payment. Mexico is allowing their economy to suffer with these attacks on Americans. Who wants to go now?
Kidnapped Laredo Businessman Released (Father)
POSTED: 11:48 am CST December 18, 2006
UPDATED: 12:52 pm CST December 18, 2006
KSAT.TV San Antonio, TX
SAN ANTONIO -- A Laredo businessman who was among five people abducted from a ranch near the U.S./Mexico border in late November has been released, sources told KSAT 12 News.
Librado Pina Jr. crossed a downtown international bridge in Laredo at 8 a.m. Monday, sources said.
The release came three days after Pina's son, Libby Pina, was released by his captors in a similar fashion.
It's also believed the ranch cook, a Mexican national, has also been released, but his whereabouts are not known.
The three men, along with two businessmen from the Dallas area and Monterrey, Mexico, were abducted from the Pinas hunting ranch near Piedras Negras on Nov. 26 by a gang of armed men.
The businessmen were released within days of the abduction.
There was no word as to a motive or if ransom was involved.
"Don't be too optomistic, the light at the end of the tunnel MAY be an oncoming TRAIN!"
ALL have now been released....
Link to Laredo newspaper article..
http://www.lmtonline.com/site/news.cfm?new...69392&rfi=6
"Don't be too optomistic, the light at the end of the tunnel MAY be an oncoming TRAIN!"
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks