Web photos may be missing Mexican politician

IMAGES of a blindfolded man circulating on the internet appear to show a former Mexican presidential candidate, who has been missing for several days, feared kidnapped.

Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, 69, a leading figure in president Felipe Calderon's governing party, has not been seen his abandoned vehicle was discovered near his ranch last weekend. Traces of blood were found on a pair of scissors.

Photographs first appeared on Thursday on the networking site Twitter, showing a bare-chested, grim-faced, bearded man with a sheet of plastic in the background.

However, the attorney general's office has yet to confirm if the pictures are of Mr Fernandez de Cevallos. Medical experts said the man appeared to be alive.

Federal officials have said they have no indication of the whereabouts of Mr Fernandez de Cevallos, the 1994 presidential candidate of the National Action Party.

Mr Calderon said yesterday: "We will find Diego and we are working with all the resources we have to find him."