SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Dominican police rescued a former U.S. Army officer Friday in a raid that left two dead, the national police chief said.
Cuban-born Armando Lopez Estrada, a 68-year-old former second lieutenant, was kidnapped by four men on Jan. 11 while visiting a friend in the Santo Domingo neighborhood of Villa Duarte, Police Chief Gen. Bernardo Santana Paez said in a statement.
Agents tracked the kidnappers to Boca Chica, a beach resort 18 miles east of the capital, where Lopez Estrada was being held for $650,000 ransom.
Police opened fire and stormed the house. Two men in the house — Florian Medina, 32, and Julio Cesar Morillo Ruiz, 41 — were killed. Ricardo Antonio Ramirez and Wilkin Miguel Minyetty Pujols were arrested on charges of participating in the kidnapping, Santana Paez said.
The U.S. Embassy confirmed Lopez Estrada's rescue. Information about his hometown and current residence were not available.
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