Clinton Vows to Find Captive Miami Hostage Negotiator

Felix Batista disappeared in Mexico in December and DC pols are pushing the swine flu nation for answers

By TODD WRIGHT

Updated 3:30 PM EDT, Fri, May 29, 2009

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It’s been nearly six months since Lourdes Batista saw her husband, Felix. He disappeared in Mexico in December after being taken hostage by people in an unmarked black car, witnessed said.

There has been no ransom demands and no communication from his captors, and now Batista has enlisted the help of nation's heavy hitters to get some answers.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to make finding Batista a top priority. Hell hath no fury like Clinton on the war path. Just as North Korean leaders.

Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen met with Batista on Friday and vowed to make sure the Obama administration would push the Mexican government for answers about her husband’s disappearance.

"We need to get answers for the family," Nelson said. "The U.S. government should be raising this case with Mexican authorities at every opportunity."

Felix Batista, 53, specialized in resolving kidnapping cases and had resolved nearly 100 kidnap and ransom cases, according to his employer, the Houston-based security firm ASI Global Response. He was in Mexico to speak to businessmen about avoiding abductions when he was kidnapped. Mexico is notorious for its kidnapping cases and U.S. tourist are always warned of the danger of traveling south of the border.

According to witnesses and media reports, Batista was having dinner at a well-known restaurant in the city of Saltillo when he received a call on his phone. He then handed some things to the person he was eating with and went outside, where he get into an unmarked car.

He was never seen again.