December 6 – An Ecuadoran international held hostage for three days has been rescued after a firefight between police and his captors in the jungle near the border with Colombia.
Pedro Perlaza, 33, a defender with top-flight club Delfin and who has previously played for Juventus, started two 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Peru and helped his country qualify for the Qatar tournament. He had been missing since Sunday evening and was freed along with another person.
A video released by police on Thursday showed the two men – both barefoot – tearfully thanking their rescuers.
“They’ve been badly treated, but they’re alive,” Diego Velastegui, head of police in the northwestern port city of Esmeraldas, told reporters.
Police “were met by bullets from the criminals” near the coastal town of Atacames, he said. The kidnappers fled after officers returned fire.
It was not clear whether any of the kidnappers were arrested, though Velastegui said several were wounded.
Perlaza, capped three times by the national team, left home on Sunday to attend a party in the northwestern coastal city of Esmeraldas before he was kidnapped. Police said he had been held in a wooden shack built on stilts, tucked into a wooded area.
In recent years, Ecuador has faced a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking. Over 7,000 violent deaths were recorded in 2023, an increase of nearly 65% compared to 2022, according to National Police reports.
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