Félix Batista knew everything about kidnappings. A 55-year-old Cuban American, he had spent years negotiating the release of hostages in Colombia and Mexico for the firm ASI Global, with nearly 100 cases resolved on his record.
In December 2008, he traveled to Coahuila to share that knowledge free of charge: on the 9th, he gave a talk in Torreón; on the 10th, another in Saltillo, both aimed at businesspeople and security officials who wanted to protect themselves from organized crime. That same afternoon, at the El Mesón Principal restaurant, he received a phone call. He got up from the table, went out onto the street, and got into a vehicle with strangers. There was no struggle or shouting.
The FBI and Mexican authorities were notified immediately. More than 15 years have passed, and no one ever heard from him again. The man who taught others how not to disappear became the mystery that Coahuila never solved.
