Mexican Gangs Kidnapping Americans

Ace put this in the headlines sidebar, but it merits a post, IMO.

Mexico is among the best places in the world to be kidnapped, ransomed, and murdered.

More of the victims (including small children) are being casually murdered and criminals are starting to take even middle class targets (Lovely southern neighbor we have. It would be rude to build a fence.).

After a couple especially heinous acts, the ire of the Mexican people is bubbling over. Well-founded suspicions that police officers are often partners in the schemes has made things worse.

Anger over the inability to trust Mexican police boiled over last week, when residents of the central Mexico town of Tlapanala managed to surround and disarm a gang of seven kidnappers posing as police. They held them for 24 hours, pounding the men to bloody pulps "with whatever they could lay their hands on," Mayor Jose Villalba said.

Lots of news on Mexicans kidnapping other Mexicans. Tons of news.
But if you google for Mexicans kidnapping Americans, not much shows up. It's virtually a non-story.

American businesswoman Veronica was stepping out of her car in California when two men forced her into the passenger seat at gunpoint, pushed her teenage daughter into the back and drove them into Mexico.

Taking advantage of lax Mexican security at the San Diego border, and with U.S. authorities focused mainly on those entering the United States, the kidnappers took the two women to Tijuana in January and held them for a month before their family paid a $100,000 ransom.

Mexican intelligence officials say Veronica is one of around 30 Americans abducted in southern California and taken to Tijuana since last November. Many of the victims are of Hispanic origin and hold double nationality.

More than 200 people have been kidnapped in Baja California state so far this year, a third more than in all of 2007, according to Mexican kidnap victims' association Esperanza.

Gee, two or three people get bitten by sharks, and shark hysteria rules the news for months. Dozens of Americans kidnapped for ransom?

Not so much.

Very puzzling.

posted by Laura. at 10:20 AM

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