Kidnapped Spaniards' wives angry over "lies" about illegal activities

The wives of two Spaniards who were kidnapped and held for five days in Mexico, before being beaten and released, denied Tuesday that their husbands were involved in any illegal activities.

"These documents are not just given to anyone," said 39-year-old Carolina Bustamante as she held up her FM2 work permit. "I have it because I am a worker and not a criminal."

An angry Bustamante said "a lot of lies" have been circulating about the January 7 kidnapping of her husband, Spaniard José Miguel Bustamante, 45, and his brother Juan, 44, in Morelia, the capital of Guanajuato state. The pair were taken to a hospital after they were found badly beaten on the side of a road on Saturday.

He doesn't sell marijuana. He deals in perfumes"

"It is all lies, especially the ones saying that he was selling marijuana. He deals in perfumes," the wife said.

Carolina's sister, Marisa, who is married to Juan, said she would prefer not to speak to the press "until things are straightened out with the Spanish consulate."

Both couples have been living on and off in Mexico since 1992. Carolina said that she has taken her three children to stay with friends because she is scared.

According to the Guanajuato daily Correo , assistant prosecutor Marco Vinicio Garibay said authorities have ruled out a kidnapping because no ransom was demanded. Spanish police are helping out in the investigation, Correo reported.