Gunman Storms U.S. Veracruz Consulate, Seizes American

VERACRUZ, Mexico — A gun-wielding man complaining of mistreatment by Mexican authorities stormed into the U.S. Consulate here on Thursday and took the consul hostage, officials said.

U.S. Embassy spokesman William Graves said Edwin Culp “is being held by a Mexican national. We have notified Mexican authorities, and they have been in touch with the individual who is in Mr. Culp’s office.”

Culp is not a Foreign Service officer but a civilian consular agent serving as consul, Graves said.

The building housing the consulate was surrounded by about 50 federal, state and local police officers Thursday night, according to Jose Antonio Herrera, night editor of the El Dictamen newspaper.

U.S. Embassy duty officer Robert Hugins said the man who seized Culp was identified as Francisco Delfin Perez of Cordoba, which is near Veracruz.

Graves said by telephone that the man had “some particular complaint against state authorities in Veracruz. I really don’t know the details of his problem.”

The Excelsior news service said Delfin Perez was demanding that authorities release his brother from prison.

Graves described Culp as in his mid-40s, a long-time resident of Veracruz who owns a restaurant, discotheque and a clothing factory.