U.S. Embassy Official Briefly Abducted in Guyana

<a href=reuters.com>Reuters Sun April 13, 2003 04:15 PM ET

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (Reuters) - An official from the U.S. embassy in Guyana was abducted by gunmen Saturday while playing golf, held for several hours, and then released unharmed, government officials said Sunday.

Steve Lesniak, 37, was freed late Saturday. He was seized earlier by armed men at a golf course at Lusignan, about 10 miles east of the capital Georgetown.

The motive for the abduction was not immediately clear, but officials said armed criminal gangs have carried out several kidnappings recently around the capital of Guyana, a poor and racially divided nation located between Venezuela and Suriname.

U.S. Embassy officials were not available to comment on the incident, and it was not clear whether there had been any negotiations to secure Lesniak's release or whether any ransom had been paid.

Over the last year, armed gangs have shot dead several police and civilians in a wave of violent crime in Guyana.