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Kidnapping in Mexico
(Part One)

Date: September 21, 2009

Reporter: Ruben Rojas

Source: Eleven News

Few situations in life are so dramatic and painful as kidnapping.

"They put a rag on my mouth and a bag over me and told me they wanted money and demanded to know wbo they should call, and and I told them my brother," said a kidnap victim.

"Last year we had 93 people killed, that it, 10% of people who have been killed lost their lives in the past year alone," said Jose Antonio Ortega, of the Citizens Council for Public Safety.

In 2008, Mexico reached a record number of reported abductions of some 1,280. That is much higher than countries with climates of insecurity allegedly greater than in Mexico, such as Venezuela, with 385 reported kidnappings, or Haiti with 300. Our number is very far from Colombia, where nearly 200 kidnappings were reported.

"We are in first place in the number of kidnappings worldwide," said Isabel Miranda de Wallace, president of Halt Kidnapping group.

Data from the federal police during this administration [beginning in 2006] report that they have arrested 722 suspected kidnappers and dismantled 94 gangs. To date in 2009, police have arrested 292 suspected kidnappers and dismembered 39 kidnapping gangs.

These numbers are controversial.

"It's a simulation,” Miranda de Wallace said. “It’s a smokescreen to say they are doing something to send a message to the people that the government is determined to do something, when really, all that the government is doing is pretending.”

Apparently, the problem is much more serious than the government is willing to admit. The sixth National Survey on Insecurity, undertaken by the Citizen's Institute for Studies on Insecurity, said that abductions represents 0.5% of total crime, equivalent to more than 50,000 kidnappings per year in its various forms.

Meyer Clip, president of the Citizens Advisory Council of the City Public Security of Mexico City, said: "Kidnapping is a crime too gray, lots of people are kidnapped, there are kidnappings of hours, and we need to do is to denounce it and demand the authorities to do something constructive to combat it. "

Despite the opacity of the official figures, projections indicate that in 2009, nearly 1,000 kidnappings could occur, because some 244 took place January to April 244.

"Kidnapping is taking root in other places where it had not occurred before and is rising in places where drugs are growing in power, is taking place in public squares," said Jose Antonio Ortega. "What they are doing is taking care of cleaning the streets -- that is the function that the kidnapper is doing, which is part of the service that drug have been doing, to clean up certain neighborhoods," said Fernando Ruiz Canales, Council for Law and Human Rights.

The face of kidnapping has also change. Profits have exceeding $600 billion over the past 20 years and have made this a great business activity, a specialization from which we are all suffering today.

One Kidnapping Reporterd Every
Two Days in Ciudad Juarez

Luz del Carmen Sosa

The Journal de Ciudad Juarez 9/21/09

In this border city, police get a complaint of a kidnapping every two days, the statistics of Justice Attorney in the Northern Zone show.

Moreover, the kidnapping industry has become one of the most lucrative criminal activities in this city, with the kidnapping gangs successfully getting theie ransom in most cases.

According to statistics offered Sunday, in the eight months that have elapsed in the year 123 complaints were filed for kidnapping, of which 9 were in January, 17 February, 18 in March and 12 April.

In April, another 13 complaints were filed by people reporting events that occurred earlier this year. By May, the Public Ministry opened 18 cases of investigation for kidnapping, 13 in June, 14 in July and finally 9 in August.

Data obtained by The Journal through the Chihuahua Institute for Transparency and Access to Public Information (ICHITAIP) establish that kidnapping has increased particularly in Ciudad Juárez.

The information on this criminal activity discloses that in 2004, citizens reported two abductions, one in March and another in September, four in 2005, one in April, two in September and one in December, plus six in 2006, one in February, in March, two in May, one in July and another in September.

In 2007 the trend was increasing and terminated in eight kidnapping reports, one in January, one in February, one in March, one in April, one in July and three in December.

For 2008, the tally registered 38 kidnapping complaints.

In January there was no deprivation of liberty for profit, but in February there were reports of two kidnappings, two in March, three in April, five in May, three in June, three in July, three in August, seven in September, one In October, four in five in November and December.

Although city and state police and judicial officials launched the Joint Operation Chihuahua Ciudad Juarez against kidnapping in 2009, kidnapping soared to levels never seen before.

In the past eight months the Specialized Unit on Investigation of Crimes Against Personal Liberty has six cases of criminal kidnap research on cases.

The Attorney General for Justice pointed out in March that police managed to capture a kidnapping ring formed by 5 people, including one minor.

In this band the state agency attributed 18 kidnappings.

Among the cases that have highlighted this year include the former ruler of the PRD, Hector Ruiz Morales, who was kidnapped on 26 May and killed the next day, although the kidnappers took the ransom.

Subsequently, an attorney was executed as he left the city after he paid the ransom for his minor child and had decided to bring charges, what did not happen.

Commando fails in
kidnapping of a mayor

Fabiola Xicoténcatl / Correspondent 9/21/09

Excelsior newspaper

VILLAHERMOSA, Tabasco .- The mayor of Nacajuca, Abenamar Leyva, was the subject of a kidnapping attempt outside his home at about five o'clock yesterday morning.

According to police sources, a group of “comma dos” entered the home of the official in in their attempt to him.

Before fleeing, the hooded men beat Arriaga, his wife and their daughter, age 18.

In Sonora, in turn, the Attorney General of the state reported finding three agents of the State Police Investigator in the mountains of Sonora along with three civilians.

It is the operational base commander Tesopaco Rosario, Ramon Ramirez Ontamucha and agents Tadeo Jose Angel Perez and Jose Antonio Anderson will act, all State Police Public Safety.

The authority also confirmed that Javier Alfonso Palomares were kidnapped, and Lesle Leyva and Jorge Anderson, brothers of one of the police personnel, said the state attorney's spokesman, Jose Larrinaga.

The operation began on Tuesday and involves elements of the state and federal police, supported by military and local government helicopters.

It was about two months Ontamucha Commander Ramon had been assigned to the base of Rosario, located south of Ciudad Obregon.

Authorities recovered three vehicles, including an avalanche, the patrol that was used by state police, which was burned.

With information from Rigo Gutierrez