US Offers $10,000 Reward for Information Leading to Safe Return of Kidnapped

US Offers US$10,000 Reward for Information Leading to Safe Return of Kidnapped Vietnam War Veteran in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - The U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has offered a US$10,000 (euro7,700) reward for information leading to the rescue of a Vietnam War veteran kidnapped more than three weeks ago.

The U.S. Embassy announced the reward in a statement on Wednesday, but embassy officials declined to comment further on Thursday.

Balram Bachu Maharaj, 62, of Mount Vernon, New York, was visiting the Caribbean country when three gunmen snatched him from a bar April 6 on the outskirts of the capital, Port-of-Spain. His abductors later demanded a US$480,000 (euro370,000) ransom.

"No major developments have occurred" with regard to the release of Maharaj, "an elderly man in poor health and in need of multiple prescribed medications," the embassy statement said.

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