Kidnappers of Mexico soccer coach silent

MEXICO CITY - Argentine relatives of one of Mexican soccer's top coaches who was kidnapped this week are becoming increasingly desperate, as prosecutors said on Thursday that his captors had still not made any demands.

Heavily armed abductors grabbed Ruben Omar Romano, Argentine-born coach of first division Cruz Azul, by blocking a road and pulling him out of his car on Tuesday after a training session in a southern suburb of Mexico City.

"We have received no information that a ransom demand has been made," Mexico City's chief prosecutor Bernardo Batiz told reporters.

He said a ransom note demanding US$470,000 ($702,000) found beside an old human jaw bone at a church in the capital turned out to be a practical joke in bad taste.

Witnesses told police the kidnappers fired warning shots and hit Romano's car but there was no blood at the abduction scene and police believe he was not badly injured.

Mexico ranks second in the world for kidnappings after war-hit Colombia, where many abductions are political, not purely criminal.

Relatives of kidnap victims in Mexico often do not tell police they are conducting ransom negotiations and even hire specialized private firms to talk to the kidnappers.

But Romano's father, Jose, said there had been no contact with the abductors, who police have described as a well-organized gang.

"There was no communication so far. We are here waiting for news and it is more exasperating every day," he told Radio Mitre in Argentina. "We are all desperate," he said.

Romano, 47, took Cruz Azul to the final stages of the league championships this year after several poor seasons.

His kidnapping was the second heavy blow to Cruz Azul this month. Mexico's soccer federation banned two international defenders, Salvador Carmona and Aaron Galindo, from soccer for a year on July 4 after they were expelled from the Confederations Cup in Germany for doping offences.

- REUTERS