CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan
authorities formally charged eight suspects Wednesday in the kidnapping of
Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos.
The charges against include
kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms, using a stolen vehicle and criminal
association, prosecutors said in a statement. Those jailed include six men
accused of directly participating in the abduction and a 59-year-old woman and
74-year-old man who are charged as accomplices for allegedly providing food to
the group.
The 24-year-old baseball player was
seized at gunpoint outside his family's home in the city of Valencia last week
and was rescued by police commandos two days later in the mountains of Carabobo
state.
Authorities said four men were
arrested at the abductors' hideout but other suspects escaped the police raid.
On Monday, police arrested a Colombian and a Venezuelan as alleged participants
in the kidnapping. The older man and woman were detained before the rescue.
Ramos said after his release that his
kidnappers had carefully planned the abduction with the help of an informant
who had studied his movements. Ramos said his abductors told him they were
going to demand a large ransom.
"What they did was laugh, joke
about my pain," Ramos said in brief remarks on television Tuesday.
The 74-year-old suspect, Aristides
Sanchez, was granted house arrest by a court as permitted in Venezuela for
suspects older than 70. However, officials said he will remain jailed until
authorities confirm his age.
Sanchez is the father of another
jailed suspect, 26-year-old Alexander Sanchez, the attorney general's office
said in a statement.
Ramos recently returned to his
homeland after his rookie year with the Nationals to play during the offseason
for his Venezuelan team, the Aragua Tigers. He has said he expects to be on the
field playing for the Tigers again soon.
"I'm very thankful, and I feel
like I've been born again," Ramos said.
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