HomeNewsBriefReport: Kidnappings Increased Over 300% in Mexico
BRIEF

Report: Kidnappings Increased Over 300% in Mexico

KIDNAPPING / 8 AUG 2011 BY RONAN GRAHAM EN

According to a new government report kidnapping in Mexico has risen 317 percent in the last five years.

An average of 3.72 kidnap cases are now reported every day in Mexico, says a report issued by a security committee in the House of Representatives, according to El Universal.

Most kidnappings are concentrated in eight states: Mexico, the Federal District, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Baja California and Tamaulipas.

The government report painted a picture of the profile of an "average kidnapper," according to El Universal. The average age of the abductor is 31 years old, and 22 percent were a member of the Armed Forces or police at some point.

Under Mexico's Anti-Kidnapping Law, passed in October 2010, the maximum sentence for a kidnapping that results in death is 70 years. The House of Representatives is seeking to increase that sentence to life imprisonment after 2010 registered a new record in kidnappings in Mexico, with close to 2,000 cases officially reported.

A recent report by Colombian non-profit Pais Libre found that seven out of ten kidnappings worldwide occur in Latin American countries. That report indicated that between 2005 and 2009, a kidnapping occurred every three hours somewhere in Latin America.

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

COVID AND CRIME / 30 MAR 2021

The seizure in Mexico of COVID-19 vaccine smuggled aboard a private plane linked to a Honduran textile magnate marks the…

COCAINE / 17 JAN 2023

The trial of Mexico’s former top public security official will reveal shortcomings in the fight against organized crime.

COVID AND CRIME / 1 SEP 2021

The Mexican government is highlighting a record number of remittances sent back to the country by citizens living in the…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…