Only 5 MLB teams still have academies in Venezuela. Updated to include Victor Zambrano family kidnaps and killing

UPDATE: "In 2009, kidnappers abducted and killed the cousin of Victor Zambrano, a former major league pitcher, before kidnapping his mother." (5th parag.) (I hadn't seen Zambrano's case mentioned in other MLB/Venezuela related reports. ed.)

• 11/16/11, "Chavez’s Venezuela: police corruption and bribery equal victims like Wilson Ramos," Washington Times
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11/16/11, "Even before the Ramos abduction, however, some U.S. teams had begun to reduce their Venezuelan presence. A handful of teams have abandoned baseball academies there in recent years; only five teams now have one.

• “We have not prohibited players from going down there, but we make them aware of what’s taken place,” Detroit Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said. “It was a concern before, and it’s a concern now.”" (end of p.2)

11/16/11, "Venezuela baseball attracts MLB players despite Wilson Ramos kidnapping," Washington Post, Adam Kilgore, Juan Forero

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