Dateline NBC: Who kidnapped Eduardo Valseca?

The kidnapping of the Mexican businessman and journalist Eduardo Valseca was news that occupied the headlines for months to come. His kidnapping in 2007 turned around the lives of the Valsecas on its head as he returned home after seven months of torture.

While the investigations into Eduardo Valseca's kidnapping resulted in no charges, two ex-Chilean guerrillas, Raul Julio Escobar Poblete and Ricardo Palma Salamanca, were suspected of their involvement in the abduction. The duo had settled in San Miguel de Allende using Mexican aliases and took part in the kidnapping-for-profit trade in Mexico, per Los Angeles Times.

The Dateline NBC episode titled The Ranch showcases the horrific details of Eduardo Valseca's kidnapping as it airs on NBC on July 5, 2024, at 9 pm EST. The official synopsis reads:

"The Valseca siblings' lives are changed when their father is taken hostage in an orchestrated abduction."

The upcoming episode 25 of season 28 was originally aired on March 20, 2020.

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What happened to Eduardo Valseca?

Eduardo Garcia Valseca was on his way back with his wife, Jayne, after dropping their three children off at school on June 13, 2007. According to The Los Angeles Times, their Jeep was attacked by at least 10 people in five vehicles on a rural road.

Both Eduardo and Jayne were blindfolded and shoved into another SUV down the road. They were taken to another location from where Eduardo was abducted while Jayne was left alone in the middle of nowhere.

In the coming months, Eduardo was held hostage for seven months and tortured mercilessly. The kidnappers demanded $8 million in exchange for Eduardo's freedom while Jayne made the bold move to get in touch with the Federal Investigative Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación or AFI) of Mexico for negotiation and investigation, per Oxygen.

Per Los Angeles Times, Eduardo Garcia Valseca reportedly shared:

“They worked like the military. Some did the kidnapping, some guarded the victims, others were in charge of communications.”

Eduardo was brutally beaten, tied up, starved, and shot twice in the leg and the arm, according to CNN. His diet consisted of a little more than eggshells and chicken bones. Eduardo had lost half his body weight and was forced to live inside a tiny wooden box with loud music playing regularly.

Eduardo Valseca was released on January 24, 2008, after Jayne made the payment of an undisclosed amount through two ranch employees. However, one of the employees was abducted by the same group in hopes of extorting more money.

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Who were suspected to be Eduardo Valseca's kidnappers?

Eduardo Valseca had moved to Maryland, Jayne's birthplace, after the ordeal but the authorities failed to make arrests with regard to the crime. The law enforcement officials suspected the involvement of an ex-trustee at the school built by the Valsecas — the Waldorf School. However, he had already been serving time for another kidnapping case, per Oxygen.

Eduardo suspected that his kidnappers were from South America from their accent and thus believed that the kidnapping ring run by the two Chilean ex-revolutionaries was behind his abduction.

Raul Julio Escobar Poblete and Ricardo Palma Salamanca were found to be behind the kidnapping of a French-American woman in San Miguel in May 2017. Escobar was arrested in May 2017 and Palma was apprehended in February 2018.

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Catch all the details of Eduardo Valseca's kidnapping on Dateline's episode on NBC on Friday.