Kidnappings on upswing again around Sololá

***** Nov. 30, 2009 Update: Sololá residents lynch three accused of killing bus driver, passenger.

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SOLOLÁ — Kidnappings for ransom seem to be quietly increasing here again.

Wednesday afternoon, the brother-in-law of a friend was kidnapped by four men about an hour from here. The kidnappers are demanding $40,000 and threatening to shorten digits or limbs. Yesterday’s deadline came and went because the family doesn’t have the money.

Frightened family members usually don’t report kidnappings because police often can’t be trusted. Since Thursday’s crime I’ve learned of several more recent kidnappings locally.

A couple of months ago, a Sololá business owner was kidnapped. Family and friends collected $11,000 to free the man. In another case about four months ago, a friend of a friend’s father was kidnapped and taken to a remote area in the hills nearby. While there, they fed him and treated him well for about a week before family members managed to scrape together $13,000 to free him.

Yesterday afternoon, the wife of another friend’s cousin was allegedly kidnapped. There are some mysterious circumstances surrounding this case. The kidnappers are demanding $20,000 in that case.

In another case, family members went to report a kidnapping, and the police officer embarrassed himself by accidentally mentioning the kidnappers’ deadline — even before the family told him about it. Apparently, he was somehow connected with the crooks.

Citizens will apparently hold some kind of mass demonstration against violence on Saturday in Guatemala City. Sololá’s peaceful demonstration in February — after which they not-so-peacefully torched the homes of known kidnappers — seemed to quiet things down for a while.

A young woman who is a U.S. citizen was kidnapped in Guatemala City sometime recently. Her family contacted the U.S. Embassy, which managed to liberate her within two hours. Why can’t the same response and results be available for every person here?

Until people stop paying ransom money to crooks and have confidence in their authorities, we’ll probably see more kidnappings. Please pray for Guatemala’s authorities (I Tim. 2:1-8) to act with courage, wisdom and honor, not accepting bribes but upholding justice.

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Here's a case of an apparent false kidnapping in nearby Panajachel, which I wrote up in August. Two men came to collect a debt, and the debtor yelled, "Kidnapping!" Media accounts reported 800 townsfolk came together, beat them and burned their car. Some officials later told me the townsfolk got it wrong.

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A friend is set to return to Iraq any day now for his third tour of duty. Here is a passage from one of his favorite psalms, Psalm 91:

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.