Senate approves stricter penalties for extortion, a pervasive problem in Mexico

Senators this week unanimously approved the Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Extortion Offenses, a caller ineligible model that standardizes the transgression passim the country, successful an effort to support Mexicans from telephone, banking and integer extortion.

The instrumentality besides strives to support victims who record charges by authorizing ex-officio investigations, meaning the complainant does not person to beryllium identified. It volition besides punish nationalist officials who collaborate successful the committee of this transgression oregon neglect to study extortion crimes.

The Senate rejected a pared-back mentation of the measure approved by the little house, voting this week to o.k. a stricter mentation much intimately aligned with President Sheinbaum’s archetypal proposal. (Andrea Murcia / Cuartoscuro)

Those crimes see a wide assortment of offenses, ranging from threats and extortion rackets to much blase techniques similar “virtual kidnapping,” successful which criminals person their people to permission location and crook disconnected their compartment phone, past telephone household members of the people demanding ransom to escaped the supposedly kidnapped person. Officials reported earlier this twelvemonth that extortion has accrued implicit 80% successful the past decade, though information is lacking since astir cases spell unreported.

This week’s 110-0 Senate ballot returns the measure to the Chamber of Deputies, wherever lawmakers determination volition code the 21 amendments senators added to 15 articles — including harsher sentencing guidelines — arsenic good arsenic the summation of a transitional article.

Members of the Morena enactment comprising 67 senators celebrated the transition of the bill, the archetypal broad and azygous effect to the scourge of extortion, which affects individuals, businesses, services and enterprises of each sizes, arsenic good arsenic proscription and the organisation of goods.

“This is simply a steadfast measurement towards closing the … ineligible loopholes that near families unprotected for years,” said Sen. Heriberto Aguilar.

The measure arsenic approved by the Senate recognizes each modern forms of digital, telephone and banking extortion, including indebtedness scams and carjackings. It guarantees that they volition beryllium investigated and punished without the request to show fiscal damage, portion besides addressing the intelligence and motivation effects connected the victims.

“Extortion not lone affects property, it deprives radical of their bid of mind, dignity and consciousness of community,” said Sen. Enrique Inzunza, president of the Legislative Studies Committee.

Aguilar said the caller instrumentality would found a azygous transgression process passim the country, eliminating differences that existed successful authorities laws and correcting the inequality of criteria that had favored impunity.

The measure calls for the instauration of peculiar units, constabulary officers, analysts and nationalist prosecutors who would beryllium trained, evaluated, certified and specialized successful the probe of extortion.

The measure besides incorporates a broad extortion strategy for victims, including punctual attraction from the authorities, and specialized support. It besides grants officials the authorization to instantly cancel telephone lines being utilized for extortion.

Additionally, resources obtained from the forfeiture of assets volition beryllium utilized to reconstruct the rights of the victims.

Security Minister: Half of reported extortion lines are operating from prisons

According to a survey published by Seven Publishing Group past year, extortion has go an casual and speedy root of financing for organized crime, governments and governmental organizations, including governmental parties, arsenic good arsenic nationalist officials who request a “fee” to transportation retired services.

The survey besides recovered that much than 97% of the victims of extortion bash not study the transgression to the authorities.

The astir communal benignant of extortion, telephone extortion, is of peculiar interest to information authorities successful Mexico because it astir often originates wrong prisons.

To code the issue, the measure prohibits inmates from having physics devices and includes 6- to 12-year sentences for those violating the law, portion besides sanctioning situation officials and different unit who let the introduction of compartment phones and different devices.

“Legal mechanisms and instruments [in the bill] volition artifact illicit communications, prohibit entree to physics devices and guarantee that prisons are spaces for power and societal rehabilitation, not for transgression activity,” said Sen. Javier Corral, president of the Justice Committee.

The instauration of a National Information System connected Extortion, a specialized reporting center, and the plan of a nationalist prevention strategy are besides contemplated successful the legislation.

With reports from La Jornada, El País, N+ and El Financiero