By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – As Mexico divests much of its attention to cracking down on the nation’s drug cartel and related violence, there has been a surge in the number of extortions.  This year alone there have been 5,335 reported exertion attempts, which is already as many attempts as all of 2012.

An increasing number of the extortions are based on Internet usage.  Experts say that criminals can gain access to information on social networks, which they use to take advantage of a person’s excessive trust.  They determine what a person looks like, their age, address, and financial and family information  Then, they use phones and/or computer messages to “extort or commit some type of illegal action against the [targeted] person.”

Mexican authorities believe the increase in extortion is attributable to their efforts in breaking up the drug cartels.  They say as the chain of command in a cartel is destroyed, many of the gunmen and traffickers routinely employed by the cartel become desperate for income and resort to extortion.  The desperation is evident in the targets of extortion, which include multinational businesses and corner stores.

Vacationers have also been targeted.  Guests at dozens of hotels have reported that they received calls from strangers claiming “they would be kidnapped if they didn’t pay.”  According to security officials, the amount of payment demanded has ranged from $380 to $1,500.  While most vacationers report the crime to security and do not pay, the threat of extortion is still unsettling.  Security Expert Jorge Chabat says that extortion “affects all economic activity [and] it discourages investment [in Mexico].”

According to federal security spokesman Eduardo Sanchez, “The person who is a victim of extortion lives in a state of permanent kidnapping [and] they live in fear.”  Dr. Roman Gaviria, an extortion victim, has echoed that sentiment.

Gaviria, who received calls demanding $20,000, had three armed men barge into his pharmacy; he was able to escape and killed two of the men in the process.  He says that from now on his “life has been an imprisonment in my own home.”  Although police officers are stationed near his pharmacy, he sees members of the gang that stalked him lurking and believes they are being protected by corrupt police officers.

While reported extortions are at an all time high, authorities believe that the majority of extortions go unreported.  Sanchez, meanwhile, is not sure whether there is an increase in the number or whether people feel more comfortable going to the police.  Either way, according to the National Statistics Institute 92% of extortions are not reported.  Additionally, NSI reports that extortion is the second most common crime in Mexico, trailing only robbery.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Mexico’s Crackdown on Drugs Spurs Extortion Wave – 14 October 2013

First Post – Internet used as extortion tool in Mexico – 14 October 2013

IBN – In Mexico, The Internet Is Also An Extortion Tool – 14 October 2013

Washington Post – Mexico’s Crackdown On Drugs Feeds Expanding Wave Of Extortions – 14 October 2014

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States –  Focus over the government stalemate shifted to the Senate Saturday, where leaders are in talks to end the nearly two week shutdown.  Word of negotiations between Senate leaders from both parties came in the wake the Senate’s rejection of a bill that would increase the government’s debt ceiling.

Talks between Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell  on Saturday were their first face to face meetings in four months and their first in person negotiation about the government shutdown.

“The conversations were extremely cordial but very preliminary of course – nothing conclusive, but I hope that our talking is some solace to the American people and to the world,” Reid said.

While resolving the shutdown appears a high priority for the Senate, the rare session held Sunday had one item on the agenda: resolve the debt ceiling issue before markets open on Monday.  A near party line vote on Saturday failed to pass an increase to the debt limit problem.  Conservative members of the Senate cited the lack of clear plans to cut spending as reason for voting against the bill.

“This bill would have taken the threat of default off the table and given our nation’s businesses and the economy the certainty we need,” the White House said in a statement.

In the wake of Congressional debate over the shutdown and debt ceiling, many Americans have taken notice of the role of the federal government in their daily lives.

Political leaders from both parties have taken to characterizing the nature of the shutdown in a way that highlights their differing views of the role of government.  President Obama highlighted the federal government’s role as a source of jobs for hundreds of thousand of Americans as well as a place for farmers and small business owners to obtain loans.

Conservative members of Congress have used the shutdown as a demonstration of the impact that a smaller government would have on Americans.

Marsha Blackburn, a Republican House member from Tennessee said, “People are going to realize they can live with a lot less government.”

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Shutdown Driving Debate Over Role of Government – 13 October 2013

The Economic Times – Shutdown debate moves to US Senate as debt deadline creeps up – 13 October 2013

Al Jazeera – Government shutdown: Senate takes center stage in budget debate – 12 October 2013

BBC News – US shutdown debate shifts to Senate – 12 October 2013

The Washington Post – Government shutdown debate grates on Congress members’ moods – 12 October 2013