HomeNewsBriefPhone Extortion in Mexico Rising
BRIEF

Phone Extortion in Mexico Rising

EXTORTION / 7 DEC 2010 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN

Threatening phone calls made by supposed members of violent crime groups like the Zetas increased 210 percent from 2009, says a Mexican security agency.

According to the Citizen's Council for Public Security (CCSP), a government body that monitors crime rates, in 2010 a total of 119,007 threatening calls were reported. The actual rate of phone extortion is probably higher, considering the number of cases that go unreported. The CCSP registered an average of 9,917 threatening phone calls a month, only a slight drop from last year's average of 10,000, reports El Economista.

The government launched a campaign in 2007 to try and register the country's cell phone subscribers, as many extortion and kidnapping schemes are carried out with mobile phones. In many cases extortion schemes are run from prison, with felons calling numbers from the local phone book or from cell phone lists.

In Juarez, extortionists are being blamed for setting fire to a kindergarten on Monday. El Diario de Juarez reports that some families still took their children to class today, even though part the school burned down allegedly after school staff refused to pay their monthly "quota" to local gangs. The Attorney General's in Chihuahua maintains that the fire was unrelated to extortion payments and was caused by a short-circuited cable.

Extortionists in Juarez have also threatened other schools in the area, reports El Economista

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CHAPITOS / 17 APR 2023

US prosecutors have provided an unprecedented look at how the Chapitos operate in Mexico and how they dominate the fentanyl…

GUATEMALA / 23 SEP 2021

The Jalisco Cartel New Generation, which has rapidly expanded to become Mexico's greatest criminal threat, may now be spreading its…

FEATURED / 15 MAR 2022

The $215,520 began its journey south in the parking lot of a Meijer grocery store in Louisville, Kentucky, a 19-hour…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.