Costa Rican diplomat freed

CARACAS (AP):

A diplomat from the Costa Rican Embassy was freed by his captors after a kidnapping ordeal that lasted more than a day, authorities said yesterday.

Guillermo Cholele, the trade attache for the Costa Rican Embassy, is in good health, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said in a message on his Twitter account.

He said in the message that the diplomat was with police and "on the way to being reunited with relatives".

Miranda state police were on a regular night-time patrol when they found Cholele at about 2 a.m. Tuesday walking near a gas station in the town of Charallave south of Caracas, where his captors released him, state police chief Eliseo Guzman told The Associated Press.

"He was a little disoriented," Guzman said in a telephone interview. He said the diplomat had a small cut on his head.