...President Hugo Chavez.
According to news reports I've read, it was a flawless operation involving good use of intelligence and quick action in a dangerous situation (the kidnappers open-fired on the national guard rescuers who had been dropped by helicopter at the remote location where Ramos was being held). Even Rotters grudgingly admits that this was "a major success for the government of President Hugo Chavez."
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/12/world/americas/venezuela-mlb-player-kidnapped/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/12/us-baseball-ramos-kidnapping-idUSTRE7AA4M020111112http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15704506Interesting how you didn't follow up on this, and just let it sit here in the LatAm Forum as a yet another slam at the Chavez government--although it's all over the news that the Venezuelan national guard, that the Chavez government has been responsible for, for the last decade, did a remarkable rescue operation, PERSONALLY authorized by President Chavez himself.
It also looks like COLOMBIAN rightwing paramilitaries may have been the perps. Colombian rightwing paramilitaries have been trying to infiltrate Venezuela for some time now, to bring the murder and mayhem that they have inflicted on Colombia into neighboring Venezuela. The biggest rightwing gang of thugs and murderers--the Black Eagles--were discovered in border areas of Venezuela, trying to set up a crime network. Once again, good Venezuelan police work--giving the lie to the Bushwhack crime boss 'president' of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, who claimed that leftist FARC guerrillas were mustering in that area of Venezuela. Not so! But the "Black Eagles" were there! Typical Bushwhacky sort of lie, proving my rule of thumb for Bushwhacks: whatever they allege that others are doing,
they are doing or planning to do.
So sorry that the Corporate News got cheated out of this opportunity--possibly given to them by rightwing death squads from the Corporate Rulers' favorite country in LatAm--the one soaking in the blood of trade unionists and other advocates of the poor murdered by said RIGHTWING death squads--to slam this leftist government once again.
Not.