SAN ANTONIO — Authorities and church leaders were at a loss to explain why an unemployed man from El Salvador chose to take hostage the state's top-ranking Catholic clergyman, known as a friend to immigrants and the poor.
Nelson Antonio Escolero, 40, who has been living in the United States legally for many years but is not a citizen, was in custody after a nine-hour standoff that ended Wednesday evening when Archbishop Patrick Flores was released unharmed.
Police said Escolero threatened Flores with a grenadelike device, because he was upset with the federal government over his possible deportation for driving with a suspended license. During negotiations with police, Escolero also complained about his unemployment and even Wednesday's departure of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to Cuba.
"I don't think he really knew what he wanted," Police Chief Al Philippus said.
Flores, 70, was named auxiliary bishop in 1970, becoming the first Mexican-American Catholic bishop in the country. His Spanish-language skills and background as a struggling Mexican-American in south Texas have made for close ties between Flores and many of the 1 million Roman Catholics in his largely Hispanic archdiocese covering 23 counties.
The police chief said the archbishop seemed to be fine after the ordeal but was taken to a hospital for possible back problems.