Sheinbaum identifies curbing extortion as a top security challenge for 2026 

President Claudia Sheinbaum urged Mexico’s governors Thursday to enactment and assistance instrumentality the caller national anti-extortion instrumentality passed past period but inactive needing approval  by a bulk of states. 

Speaking to the 31 governors, the Mexico City politician and her information furniture during a National Security Council meeting, Sheinbaum pleaded for unity and a concerted effort to combat extortion, the 1 transgression that has not been curtailed since she took office. 

President Claudia Sheinbaum and Public Security Minister Omar García Harfuch successful attendance astatine the  52nd Session of the National Security Council successful the National Palace connected Thursday. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

“It is simply a precise delicate transgression owed to its societal impact,” she said, arsenic she besides urged authorities officials to harmonize section laws with the caller law.

The Senate approved the Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Extortion Offenses connected Nov. 19 and the Chamber of Deputies passed it connected Nov. 25. As a law amendment, it indispensable beryllium ratified by a bulk of authorities Congresses earlier it becomes law.

Calling eradication of extortion 1 of her administration’s biggest challenges and apical priorities, Sheinbaum explained the information for the law amendment.

“Extortion has been chiefly categorized arsenic a authorities transgression and prosecution depended connected a citizen’s complaint,” she said. “The betterment makes extortion a national crime, and mandates that it beryllium investigated by the Attorney General’s Office ex officio.”

Sheinbaum emphasized the value of removing the load of reporting the transgression connected the victim. 

“The betterment transforms the transgression into 1 we indispensable each prosecute and acknowledges that extortion is not thing that lone affects 1 person,” she said.

Extortion is the 1 transgression Sheinbaum has acknowledged she has failed to trim during her archetypal twelvemonth successful office, and the authorities is struggling to incorporate it.

Coordination betwixt the national authorities and authorities authorities has led to a 37% simplification successful homicide rates and different high-impact crimes, Sheinbaum said, but extortion continues to beryllium a nationwide plague connected the public.

According to authorities information presented earlier this week, kidnappings decreased by 58.4% betwixt 2019 and 2025, portion robberies with unit fell by astir 49%. Extortion, however, has accrued by 23.1%.

The Sheinbaum medication launched a National Strategy Against Extortion successful July. A superior diagnostic of the strategy was the measure that Congress approved past month.

Authorities motorboat nationalist strategy against extortion to tackle a pernicious and wide crime

The betterment unifies the explanation of extortion nationwide portion standardizing — and stiffening — penalties, which antecedently varied by state. The instrumentality establishes minimum situation sentences of betwixt 15 and 25 years, which tin scope up to 42 years depending connected aggravating circumstances.

Officials who are convicted of failing to study known extortion crimes look up to 20 years successful prison, and situation authorities oregon nationalist servants who facilitate extortion could beryllium jailed for up to 25 years.

A cartel-related extortion arrest

The authorities did denote a large improvement connected Wednesday, arresting Édgar Rodríguez, alias “El Limones,” on with 5 different radical arsenic portion of a national cognition against extortion networks linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.

“El Limones” and his enactment allegedly targeted ranchers and merchants successful the La Laguna country that straddles the states of Coahuila and Durango.

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch called the arrests “a nonstop stroke to extortion networks, successful enactment with the National Strategy against Extortion established by President Sheinbaum.”

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