Source: Clayton September K&R Extortion Monitor"According to a report released in Mexico by a Christian organization, promoting global peace through Christianity, Mexico is ranked first in a list of countries affected by kidnappings, followed by Iraq. According to the NGO, kidnappings in Mexico are related to the appearance of drug cartels and organized crime. The report claims that 7,000 kidnappings took place in Mexico during 2007, which are only part of the real figures. According to the report, an average of three or four kidnappings take place daily in Mexico. Kidnappers’ main targets are successful businessmen and members of the middle class. This type of crime also affects other Latin American countries where the number of cases has increased dramatically in past years and new practices are invented. According to the report the top ten countries affected by kidnapping are: Mexico, Iraq, India, South Africa, Brazil, Pakistan, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia and Bangladesh. Ecuador and Venezuela now rank above Colombia, which was ranked first in 2000 with 3,000 kidnappings annually, most of which were associated with the country’s internal conflict. It appears that the Colombian problem of a few years ago is now being copied in Ecuador and Venezuela where in many cases Colombian guerrilla and former paramilitaries have cooperated with local kidnapping gangs."
ARC Comment: Kidnap risk assessment based on statistics alone hide the real kidnap risk. For example, many tourists and business people enjoy trouble-free visits to many of the above destinations, whereas areas such as the Niger Delta, which doesn’t feature in the above top ten represents a high kidnap risk for business travellers.
How to assess the real risks to business travellers is discussed in detail during a one-day workshop which forms part of Security Management Stage 2. Forthcoming dates for this very popular advanced programme are 13-24 October 2008, 9-20 February 2009 and 29 June – 10 July 2009.
For more details click on the following link:
