Mexico Watchdog Says 15,000 Kidnapped Since 1986
 Agence France-Presse
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| | Ten of thirteen corpses discovered inside a bus, lie on a road in San Ignacio, Sinaloa State, Mexico, on December 4. More than 15,000 people have been kidnapped in Mexico since 1986, an independent watchdog said Thursday, as prosecutors said they had identified the remains of a girl abducted last year. (AFP) | |
Mexico City – More than 15,000 people have been kidnapped in Mexico since 1986, an independent watchdog said Thursday, as prosecutors said they had identified the remains of a girl abducted last year.
"The explosive growth in the number of kidnappings can be explained by the participation of security forces, directly or indirectly, by selling protection, as well as negligence or incompetence," said Jose Antonio Ortega, head of the Citizen's Council for Public Security and Justice.
Since 1971, 856 kidnap victims have been killed, in a trend that is on the increase, Ortega said at a news conference launching a book on kidnappings.
The state prosecutor's office said Thursday that a body found last week in Mexico City had been identified as that of the daughter of the former director of the National Sport Commission, who was 19 years old when she was kidnapped in September 2007.
Official figures show 954 kidnappings from January 1 to November 30 2008, but rights groups say there are two to three more cases to each one reported.
More than 200,000 people marched across Mexico in late August to protest against rising kidnappings, violence and insecurity, after the high-profile kidnapping and murder of a 14-year-old boy in which police were allegedly implicated. |
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Editorials | Issues | December 2008 
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