The Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuchannounced the launch of the National Agreement Against Extortion, a joint strategy with the governors to reinforce the fight against this crime, standardize federal legislation in all Entities and create specialized areas within the Prosecutor’s Offices..
At the 52nd Ordinary Session of the National Public Security Council, held at the National Palace, he explained that The agreement proposes five axes: prosecute extortion ex officio, harmonize state legal frameworks, strengthen the operation of the number 089, consolidate specialized units and establish a national manual that unifies the reporting, investigation and judicialization processes.
With this agreement, the Federation and the 32 state governments seek to consolidate a common front that will effectively reduce one of the crimes that most affects the population and the productive sector of the country, since between 2019 and 2025 it grew 23.1%. It is the only high-impact crime that increased in that period.
The States most affected by this crime are: Mexico, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Mexico City, Veracruz, Jalisco, Guerrero and Michoacán.
Since the beginning of the National Strategy against Extortion (last June), more than 102,800 complaint calls have been received and more than 615 people have been arrested in 22 States. He stressed that the objective is to provide greater certainty to victims and guarantee that authorities at all levels act under uniform criteria.
President Claudia Sheinbaum celebrated the unanimous approval of the agreement and stated that the fight against extortion will be one of the most important challenges. He explained that the recent constitutional modification will allow this crime to also be considered federal in nature, investigated by the Attorney General’s Office and prosecuted ex officio, without depending exclusively on the victim’s complaint. “If together we have reduced intentional homicides by 37%, we can also significantly reduce extortion.” He added that the new national telephone registry will be key to stopping extortion via cell phone, one of the most common modalities.
The federal government has also already identified that 12 penitentiary centers concentrate 56% of the telephone lines used for extortion. A third has already been blocked and it is expected that, during the first quarter of next year, telephone use will be eliminated in the 14 federal prisons and the 13 in Mexico City.
Governor Pablo Lemus participated in the meeting and highlighted the coordination with the federal government to reduce crime rates. He supported the federal proposal to standardize laws to combat ex officio the crime of extortion and strengthen care for missing persons. He also reiterated the need to reinforce security at truck stations and reform the Financial Discipline Law so that States like Jalisco can hire more police officers.
With new law, two men are prosecuted in Jalisco
For the first time in Jalisco, two men were linked to proceedings under the recent reform of the General Law to Prevent and Punish Crimes Related to Extortionreported prosecutor Salvador González de los Santos. These are Alejandro “N” and Óscar Alejandro “N”, arrested in flagrante delicto for an incident recorded on November 30 in the Infonavit Río Nilo neighborhood, in Tonalá.
According to the investigations, both arrived at a convenience store, where Alejandro “N”, allegedly armed, forced an employee to make a bank deposit for five thousand pesos. After the panic button was activated, elements from the Tonalá Police Station went to the scene and secured the suspects.
On December 7, a judge linked them to proceedings for attempted aggravated extortion. They will remain in informal preventive detention as a precautionary measure.
The reform allows the crime to be prosecuted ex officio – without a complaint – and establishes penalties of 10 to 45 years in prison. Furthermore, the use of a bank account in the collection attempt makes it possible for them to be prosecuted for extortion and not only for theft, as occurred before.
The Prosecutor’s Office will continue with the investigations to obtain a sentence.
CT