Kidnap, ransom, and murder.
The harsh and sad reality of becoming a major league baseball player for a few Latin American players is the target put on the collective backs of their family members in their poverty-stricken home countries.
The details are still sketchy at this point, but the body of Carlos Blanco -- brother of Cubs' catcher Henry Blanco -- was discovered Tuesday in Venezuela. He was the victim of an apparent murder.
According to reports, Carlos was being held ransom and his brother was in negotiations to pay off the kidnappers.
This is just heinous. A man makes an affluent life for himself in another country, and his family is faced with significant risk back home.
I saw a personally maddening comment on a message board somewhere, saying Blanco should have simply moved his brother to the United States with him. It's easy to say, but is it really that easy to do? What about all the logistics involved on bringing multiple people over to a new country just because you can play baseball? Many of these players aren't even U.S. citizens, they are just granted work visas.
Furthermore, where does it end? You bring over your brother, but not your cousin, and the cousin is at serious risk. The problem lies with protection in the home countries of these family members. Perhaps some extra security measures should be made. I don't know the answer because I'm not well-versed in the strength of the Venezuelan police force.
I do hope the perpetrators of this vicious crime are brought to justice in some way, shape, or form quite soon.
FanHouse sends our condolences to the Blanco family and anyone else affected by this senseless tragedy.
Henry Blanco's Brother Murdered in Venezuela originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
