Extortion claims 32 victims daily in Mexico, experts urge focused strategy

Mexico is grappling with persistent extortion, with an average of 32 victims recorded daily nationwide between January and July of 2026. This marks a slight uptick from the previous two years, highlighting the crime's enduring structural presence despite ongoing government efforts. The State of Mexico, Mexico City, and Guanajuato consistently report the highest numbers of victims.

“

The figures show variations between 2024, 2025 and 2026, but if we look closely, the pattern remains. This suggests that, although the authorities act, extortion retains a structural presence and continues to be a high-value activity for criminal groups.

Carlos Hernández Vázquez, director of the security consulting firm Nzaya, emphasizes that current federal strategies, while containing adequate components, need to become more preventive, targeted, and localized. He points out that the consistent pattern in extortion figures suggests that criminal groups find it a high-value activity, and authorities' reactions, while present, are not fundamentally altering the landscape.

“

For this reason, we need to better understand how the crime behaves in each territory, criminal group, productive sector, and community.

"We need to better understand how the crime behaves in each territory, criminal group, productive sector, and community," Hernández stated. He argues that simply reacting to isolated cases is insufficient. Authorities must identify networks, financial flows, facilitators, and vulnerabilities. He also identifies impunity, corruption in both public and private sectors, and a lack of trust in authorities as key factors that reduce reporting incentives and facilitate the crime's perpetuation.

“

It is not enough to react to isolated cases; we must identify networks, financial flows, facilitators, as well as vulnerabilities.

Hernández further stresses the need for coordinated strategies, including money laundering prevention. He believes that by integrating criminal intelligence, financial analysis, local authorities, and economic sectors, Mexico can effectively reduce organized crime's illegal income sources and its capacity to move and launder illicit funds. The persistent nature of extortion underscores a complex challenge requiring a multi-faceted and deeply integrated approach.

“

Furthermore, there are strategies that must be articulated with each other. An example is the prevention of money laundering… Many vulnerable activities are part of productive value chains in the states. If we coordinate criminal intelligence, financial analysis, local authorities, and economic sectors, we could reduce not only the illegal sources of income for organized crime but also its capacity to move, transform, and launder those resources.