(Quito) A member of the Chilean navy kidnapped in Ecuador, and whose hand was mutilated, was released on Sunday during a police intervention, authorities announced.
Ecuadorian police have “released a Chilean citizen” for whom his captors were demanding a ransom of US$100,000 (C$135,000), the Interior Ministry said on Twitter.
The kidnappers had “amputated two fingers of his left hand”, local police colonel Fabari Montalvo told the press.
In an image released by the Interior Ministry, the 31-year-old Chilean citizen appears alongside a police officer, his left hand covered in plastic.
“Two people suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of this foreign national have been arrested,” explained the prosecution.
This Chilean citizen, Luis Toledo, had been kidnapped in the coastal town of Daule, in southwestern Ecuador, where he lived with his Ecuadorian wife of 30 years, according to the police.
The Chilean navy said on Wednesday that “this master corporal had taken unpaid leave and had been in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, since January”.
He was found and released as part of a police operation in the city of Duran, in the region of Guayaquil, province of Guayas where the city of Daule is also located where he had been kidnapped, according to the prosecution.
The port of Guayaquil, capital of the province of Guayas, is considered the most violent city in Ecuador. Gangs clash there for control of drug trafficking.