No word on kidnapped Venezuelan national

Investigators claim Louis Rondal, 50, was kidnapped by two men claiming to be police while driving his vehicle in St Augustine.

No ransom has been demanded by the kidnappers to date.

The white Mitsubishi Pajero was found abandoned in a secluded area in San Juan Thursday afternoon by police, and is now at the Barataria Police Station.

When Newsday visited friends of Rondal, at McShine Terrace in Sangre Grande, they said Rondal was a very “friendly person who played football with children in the community.”

They also said they were not aware that Rondal had a common-law wife in Trinidad.

“We met Rondal when we went for a vacation in Caracas, Venezuela, and he said he will visit us here,” a relative, Sherry, said.

Sherry said before Rondal arrived for the first time in Trinidad, the family was called by Immigration to confirm the address.

“When we met Louis in Caracas we met his wife and family. We did not know he knew anyone here,” Sherry said.

“Louis came and spent time here after that on and off, he only stayed in hotels at first,” Sherry said.

She said before Rondal’s kidnapping, he was seen by a family member drinking in a Sangre Grande bar.

According to police reports, Louis Rondal, 50, owner of a taxi service, was driving along the Eastern Main Road with his common-law wife at 12:30 pm, when he stopped his vehicle at the corner of College Road at the UWI traffic lights. Two men came out of a black Mitsubishi Lancer that was travelling, behind Rondal’s vehicle, they were police and ordered them out of the vehicle.

The woman and Rondal got into the Lancer with the two men. On reaching the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near Aranjuez, one of the men pointed a gun at the woman and said, “This is a kidnapping, we are not police, get out!”

The gunmen then drove off with Rondal. Sources revealed that Rondal, who has been living in Trinidad for the past two months, was travelling with an undisclosed sum of money.

Deputy Commissioner of Police and Operations, Winston Cooper, said he is aware of the situation and the matter is being investigated.

The Anti-Kidnapping Squad and the Tunapuna Police Station are continuing the investigations.