Mexico Kidnap and Ransom Market

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Kidnap and Ransom in Mexico

Market Overview

An article in The Christian Science Monitor has quoted ransom demands to be as high as $30 million. A security expert placed the average ransom demand at $280,000, with the final payment being negotiated down to around $19,000.²

Mexico Illicit Markets

Average Ransom:
$280,000

Source: Gretchen Peters, " Kidnapping thrives in Mexico," Christian Science Monitor, September 17, 2002, http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0917/p06s02-woam.html (accessed: December 1, 2006).

In a 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning article by Kevin Sullivan of The Washington Post, kidnappings were said to be occurring at least once per day in Mexico. Ransom demands have been reported to be as high as $5 million dollars, with several known payments of $1 million paid. Maids were also being held for $500 in ransom.¹

In an example of the difficulty in obtaining accurate information, various studies have shown that fewer than a third of families ever report a kidnapping.²

In 2006, over 200 residents of Tijuana were kidnapped for ransom.³

Kidnapping and Human Smuggling

An article by the Associated Press highlighted the activity where illegal immigrants were kidnapped from their smugglers. According to the AP, " Kidnappings - or rip-offs, as federal agents call them - can prove lucrative for smugglers, with ransoms typically ranging from $1,200 to $2,500 per person." ⁴ These types of incidents were first noticed during the late 1990s, and between April 2005 and July 2006, law enforcement agents in Arizona worked on more than 60 such cases.⁵

Sources:

1. Kevin Sullivan, " Kidnapping is Growth Industry in Mexico," Washington Post, September 17, 2002.
(Available to view at The Pulitzer Prizes website: 2003 International Reporting : Works: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/international-reporting/works/post6.html ) (accessed: December 1, 2006).

2. Peters, Christian Science Monitor.

3. Tyche Hendricks, " On The Border: Drugs Taking Toll on Tijuana," San Francisco Chronicle, January 28, 2007, http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/28/MNGCJNQHOS1.DTL (accessed: January 29, 2007).

4. Jacques Billeaud, AP, " Smuggling could be behind Ariz. killings," Seattle Post-Intellligencer, February 14, 2007, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Smuggler_Rip_offs.html (accessed: February 27, 2007).

5. AP, " Smuggling could be behind Ariz. killings," .