Posted on 01/25/2005 11:09:32 AM PST by primeval patriot
Kidnapping has grown into entry-level crime, Mexico City AG says
MEXICO CITY - The abduction and apparent killing of Dallas restaurateur Oscar J. Sanchez has all the elements of similar crimes that take place in Mexico's capital and countryside - a couple of times a day.
Although most victims here aren't killed, authorities warn that amateur kidnappers are fueling the crime wave and that they are more likely to panic and kill their victims even after ransom has been paid.
Suspect's ex-school stunned
Kidnapping has become so widespread that it is now an entry-level crime for juvenile delinquents, the Mexico City attorney general's office said last month.
It is not known whether one of the suspects in the kidnapping of Mr. Sanchez, 24-year-old Edgar Acevedo, was influenced by the easy money and impunity many kidnappers in his native Mexico enjoy.
But one security consultant says it's entirely possible.
"It wouldn't be surprising that the high level of publicity about kidnapping crimes in Mexico may have been on their mind," said Jon French, managing director in Mexico of IPSA International, a California-based consulting firm. "I don't think it's a stretch."
~snip~
Mexico is considered the No. 2 kidnapping hot spot after Colombia. Officially in Mexico, there are about 300 kidnappings per year, but security experts say most kidnappings go unreported because police aren't trusted. The real number of abductions is probably several times higher.
~snip~
Mr. French said there is no evidence that Mexican immigrants are bringing Mexico's culture of kidnapping to the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
What an idiot. Mexicans did this kidnapping, they have held whole housefuls of people in Phoenix for ransom. They kidnap right and left in Mexico --- why wouldn't they do the same here?
Well it's happening right in front of our eyes.
The Dallas Morning News thinks it can pull a "security consultant" out of its hat and tell us otherwise.
Coming soon to a neighborhood near you, if it isn't there already.
Hispanic businesses want police action; chief defends agency
Rosie Rodriguez, an Oak Cliff flower shop owner, doesn't believe police are doing enough to keep her business safe. So she has taken matters into her own hands. She has spent more than $20,000 on surveillance cameras, personal electronic alarms for herself and employees and steel bars for her doors and windows. She also keeps a gun on the premises.
"The police are not doing a damn thing. They've taken videos that show people vandalizing and said they'd get back to me and have not done so," she said at a meeting Monday of more than 30 Hispanic business owners at a restaurant on West Jefferson Boulevard. Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle and some local politicians attended to respond to the business owners' fears about becoming victims of violent crime. Santos Lozano, owner of Morelia Mexican restaurant, called the meeting in response to the kidnapping of fellow restaurateur Oscar Sanchez. Mr. Lozano said it was an act of violence that shows the need for stronger actions by police.
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As far as owning guns in Mexico, it's all about who you know, or rather who you pay off or are friends with. People with money or status don't have to follow the same rules that the peasants do.
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