Monterrey (Mexico), Sep 13 (IANS/EFE): The body of a former state legislator was found in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon four days after he was kidnapped by gunmen, authorities said Wednesday.

Hernan Belden Elizondo's body was discovered Tuesday at La Huasteca park in the city of Santa Catarina, the Nuevo Leon Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

The 45-year-old Belden Elizondo was a member of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN.

Belden Elizondo was kidnapped last Friday, but "no money was ever demanded" for his release, the AG's office said, adding that he was killed the same day.

The disappearance of the former state legislator, who died from a blow to the head, was reported by San Pedro mayor Mauricio Fernandez.

Belden Elizondo owned a company that makes plastic products.

The Los Zetas cartel has been battling the Gulf cartel for control of the Monterrey metropolitan area and smuggling routes into the United States.

The wave of drug-related violence in Nuevo Leon claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in 2011, official figures show.