Former Mexico presidential candidate reported missing
A onetime presidential candidate was missing Saturday, and “signs of violence” were evident at the reported abduction scene in central Mexico, federal authorities said.
Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a 1994 presidential candidate with the conservative party of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, disappeared Friday night, according to news reports.
The federal attorney general’s office said Fernandez de Cevallos’ empty vehicle was discovered near his La Cabana ranch in the central state of Queretaro. Also found were some of his belongings amid “signs of violence,” the attorney general’s statement said. It did not elaborate.
Some Mexican news reports cited unidentified officials as saying the 69-year-old lawyer, whose beard and fat cigars accented his image as a consummate deal-maker, was kidnapped. But the federal attorney general’s office and prosecutors in Queretero did not confirm those reports.
Late Saturday, a Mexican radio report cited unidentified relatives of Fernandez de Cevallos as saying he had been wounded during an apparent kidnapping attempt and was being treated at an undisclosed hospital.
The politician’s disappearance further rattled a nation that has been reeling under runaway drug-related killings, kidnappings and extortion attempts. Fernandez de Cevallos, who is not well known abroad but is an outsize figure in Mexican politics, would be the highest-profile victim of the violence that has soared since Calderon declared war against drug traffickers in late 2006.
About 23,000 people have been killed since then, most as a result of fighting between rival trafficking groups. The state of Queretaro, about two hours northwest of Mexico City, is not known to be a drug-smuggling hot spot.
News of the disappearance briefly delayed Calderon’s departure on a trip to Spain. The Mexican president’s travels are also scheduled to take him to the White House this week. In a statement Saturday, Calderon said he had ordered federal agencies to do everything possible to find the missing man.
Fernandez de Cevallos has been a bulwark of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, years before it stood a chance of winning the presidency. The PAN made history when it toppled the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in 2000. It has ruled since then.
He has served in Congress as a representative and senator, and was known for a silver tongue and hard-nosed negotiating style.
As the PAN’s candidate for president in 1994, Fernandez de Cevallos finished with about 26% of the vote behind Ernesto Zedillo of the PRI. Fernandez de Cevallos remained a power within the party, at times critical of its leadership.
His law practice has won major court judgments, often against government agencies, leading to charges that he used political connections for personal gain.
Cecilia Sanchez of The Times’ Mexico City Bureau contributed to this report.
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