A Spanish woman was found dead in Mexico after a failed ransom ordeal.
Maria Villar Galaz, 36, the niece of the president of Spanish Football Federation, had been abducted in Mexico on September 13, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said.
The body of an unknown woman was found in the city of Toluca on Thursday, 15 September, two days after Ms Galaz' kidnapping, but she was not identified until the following Tuesday. The central city of Toluca lies some 60 kilometres southwest of Mexico City.
She had been kidnapped as she withdrew money from an ATM in a leading business district of Mexico City, El Mundo newspaper reported.
After her abduction, she was forced to withdraw funds from bank machines. Her captors made demands of money from her family to ensure her release, the minister said.
"An amount was paid, although much lower than what they had asked, and we were convinced that it would be a matter of time before she appeared safe and sound. Unfortunately things did not turn out that way."
"It is very sad news and totally unexpected," he added.
He did not reveal what amount the kidnappers had demanded, but reports in Spanish media indicate that it would have been 200,000 Mexican pesos (€9,000).
The woman’s husband and a cousin went to Mexico accompanied by two Spanish police officers to try to secure her release, the minister added.
Her uncle, Angel Maria Villar, has been president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation since 1988. He is a former Athletic Bilbao and Spain midfielder who has been on the executive committee of world football ruling body FIFA since 1998.
