Pittsburgh Pirates: Elias Diaz’s Mother Kidnapped in Venezuela

Yesterday, some sad news came out from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.  It was reported that Elias Diaz‘s mother has been kidnapped.

If you watched a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates games last season, there was one commercial in particular that really stood out.  Francisco Cervelli starred in the commercial.  He was speaking out against the current government regime of Venezuela.  There is a robust amount of political uneasiness in the country, with many speaking out, protesting, and rioting against the current president Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro held an undemocratic election last year, which in turn caused issues between the people and the government.  It also caused a response from the United States to bring sanctions against the country.   By the end of the season, not only was Cervelli showing support to the people protesting, but so were Pittsburgh Pirates Felipe Rivero and Elias Diaz.

However, the political unrest is not the only issue that is going on in the South American country.  Another big issue that has occurred in Venezuela is the issue of people being abducted. The most recent case is Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz, whose mother was reportedly kidnapped.  This happened while she was at her home in the state of Zulia.  Not much is known as to who kidnapped the young catcher’s mother.  Here is what Pittsburgh Pirates team president Frank Coonelly had to say about the unfortunate event:

"“We are all shocked and deeply concerned for Elias’ mother, as well as for Elias and his entire family, we have Elias’ mom and Elias’ entire family in our prayers. We are using all of the resources available at the Pirates and Major League Baseball to support Elias and his family during this incredibly difficult time. As we work with authorities on his mom’s safe return, we will withhold further comment and ask that you please respect the family’s need for privacy.”"

This is not the first time that something like this has happened in Venezuela.  In 2009 former big league pitcher Victor Zambrano was abducted.  Meanwhile, in 2011 then Washington Nationals’ catcher Wilson Ramos had gone missing.  He was found after two days being held in a mountain hide out.

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There is no real clear cut answer as to why this is happening.  One logical reason would be that the captors know that the relatives plays professional baseball.  Therefor, the captors may feel that they will be able to make a nice ransom off of these baseball players.  The other issue is of course is the government.  Many of the Major League players claim that the government is not providing the necessary support or protection against these groups.  Hopefully this all gets solved quickly so that the Diaz family can go back to a sense of normality.