‘Godmothers’ Increasingly Powerful in Italian Mafia Families

October 30, 2016

Source: breitbart.com

There has been a steady increase in the number of women in power positions among the different branches of the Italian Mafia, with some as brutal and calculating as the men they are replacing, according to recent reports.

In the Camorra, for instance, the Naples-based Mafia clan, prosecutors estimate that the number of active women is 10 times higher than it was in the 1980s or ‘90s, and many more women are winding up arrested or killed.

Analysts suggest that the reason behind female Mafiose rising to power has nothing to do with feminist empowerment and everything to do with demographics. Women are taking over when their male family members are sent to jail or killed.

“There is a growing number of women who hold executive roles in the Camorra,” said General Gaetano Maruccia, commander of the Carabinieri paramilitary police in the Naples area. “They are either widows of mob bosses or wives of husbands who have been put in prison. They hold the reins.”

Mothers, daughters, sisters and sisters-in-law are “assuming ever-more leading roles,” according to Stefania Castaldi, a Naples-based prosecutor who investigates organized crime.

But for whatever the motives, the transition has been real and relentless.

“In Naples, we say, ‘The bosses gave their balls to their wives,’” says Cristina Pinto, a reformed Camorra boss who served 23 years of jail time for her crimes.

“Now the power is in the hands of the women mobsters. These women are worse than men. They order murders just like that, not even thinking about the consequences. They are violent and irrational. Money and power make them crazy,” she said.

This phenomenon is not limited to Naples. Women bosses or “godmothers” can now be found in every branch of the Italian Mafia: the Camorra in Naples, the Cosa Nostra in Sicily. the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria, and the Sacra Corona Unita in Apulia.

According to the Italian Ministry of Justice, more than 150 Mafia women are now locked up in Italian prisons, and nearly all of them had leadership roles in one of the Mafia branches.

In Sicily, for instance, having women in positions of power in Cosa Nostra is now an accepted reality, something that wasn’t the case just a few decades ago. According to one Palermo prosecutor, Francesca Mazzocco, there are around 20 Cosa Nostra families active in the main cities and towns of Sicily, a third of which are either led by women or have women among their most powerful members.

“If the husband was very strong, then the woman gets more respect,” Ms. Mazzocco said.

One of the groundbreakers was Giuseppa (Giusy) Vitale, the first woman considered the real head of a Sicilian crime family, or in local jargon, one of the “bosses in skirts and high heels.”

“Giusy is a woman who sacrificed her femininity to almost become a man, shaped by her brothers in their image and likeness, ruthless and cruel, ready to order a murder with the click of her fingers,” says Alessandra Ziniti, a journalist in Palermo with the Italian daily La Repubblica.

To avoid prison, Vitale later became a pentita, collaborating with law enforcement, and reportedly now lives under a witness protection program in a secret location.

Another Sicilian godmother, Teresa Marino, allegedly took over for her husband, Tommaso Lo Presti, when the latter was sent to prison for his Mafia activities in Palermo.

“The role she assumed as head of the clan shows that times have changed – these days there is equality of the sexes, even within Cosa Nostra,” said Leonardo Agueci, a Palermo prosecutor.

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‘Virtual kidnapping’ new parental concern

October 17, 2016

Source: southcoasttoday.com

Schools across the U.S. are warning about a scam to convince parents that their children have been kidnapped — even though they haven’t — and to collect ransom money.

Cases of “virtual kidnapping” have been reported over the past two months in Virginia, California, Texas, Arizona and other states. Authorities say the scam often targets the parents of college students, tricking some into paying thousands of dollars and appears to be on the rise nationally.

In many cases, parents receive a call from a stranger who claims to have kidnapped their child, and can often provide the child’s name or other details. Some parents have reported hearing screams or a muffled cry in the background. Then the caller orders parents to wire money in exchange for their child’s release.

“They really prey on people’s fears, and in this case it’s a very intense fear, thinking that your child’s been kidnapped,” said Jay Gruber, police chief at Georgetown University, where a parent reported the scam last week. In that case, the parent used social media to contact the child, and didn’t pay the ransom.

Usually, the ransom demand is between $600 and $1,900, according to the FBI’s New York field office, which issued a warning about the scam in January 2015. Gruber said the scheme emerged in the U.S. more than a year ago but has become more common recently.

Thirkel Freeman was driving with his wife, Coretta, last week when a man called Coretta’s cell phone and said he had kidnapped their daughter, Kiauna, a senior at the University of Maryland. The caller even put a woman on the phone who claimed to be Kiauna and had a similar voice, pleading them to pay the ransom. The man threatened to kill Kiauna if they didn’t.

“He says, ‘If you play games with me, it’s over,'” said Thirkel, of White Plains, Maryland. “At that point, we were at the peak of traumatization.”

Coretta called the police, who arrived and guided the couple through the call. But the Freemans ultimately wired $1,300 to the caller before finding out Kiauna was safe on campus.

Several colleges have issued alerts about the scam, including Georgetown, Arizona State University, George Mason University and the University of Texas at Arlington.

The calls often come from outside area codes, sometimes from Puerto Rico, according to the FBI. If someone calls demanding a ransom, authorities say parents should try to text their child or reach them through social media to confirm their child’s safety. Or they can ask the alleged kidnapper to have their child call back from his or her own phone.

“Once you find out that your child is fine, just disengage with them,” Gruber said. “Or, if your child is with you, tell them to go to hell and hang up on them.”

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Corporate espionage – webcams used to blackmail victims into spilling company secrets

July 19, 2016

Source: neowin.net

Delilah malware utilizes webcams to blackmail victims into spilling company secrets.

Cybercriminals are currently utilizing a new piece of malware to gather private moments of employees, which in turn is used as blackmail for these people to disclose secrets of companies they work for.

Threat intelligence firm Diskin Advanced Technologies (DAT) initially discovered the malware, which is named ‘Delilah.’ It is known as ‘the world’s first insider threat trojan’ due to its ability to capture and record footage of a company’s employees, which they can use to threaten them into divulging private company information, harming them in the long run.

The malware is distributed via multiple adult and gaming websites. Avivah Litan, a Gartner analyst, stated: “the bot comes with a social engineering plug in that connects to webcam operations so that the victim can be filmed without his or her knowledge.” Delilah gathers whatever information it can get, like the employee’s family and workplace.

Furthermore, to communicate with its victims, criminals are using encrypted channels like VPN software and Tor. Also, the malware’s victimization process requires a high amount of human involvement to be able to identify and prioritize individuals who can be extorted into operating as the malware’s insiders at desirable target firms.

As of now, DAT reports that the malware is still buggy, causing the screen to freeze for about 10 seconds, which is reportedly caused by the high volume of screenshots that the malware is taking. It also produces error messages when attempting to turn on a victim’s webcam.

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International investigations and security services

June 27, 2016

Source: ABP World Group Ltd.

ABP World Group is an independent security company, specializing in international investigations, corporate intelligence, child recovery and protective security operations.

Our agents are based around the world and have backgrounds which include work in the corporate sector, government service, law enforcement, foreign intelligence, law and media related services.

Clients have entrusted ABP World Group for over two decades with issues requiring professional attention.  We have the ability to assist quickly through our experience, knowledge and available resources.  We get the job done right the first time.

Blackmail – Origin of the word blackmail

To blackmail somebody is to exhort money or something else of value from them by the threat of exposing information that will harm them in a number of ways. Blackmail is a punishable criminal offense.

The word blackmail comes from the Scottish ‘mail’. In Scottish English this word used to mean ‘tax’ or ‘rent’.  Because of poor enforcement years ago in  Scotland farmers living along the borders of suffered at the hands of criminal gangs. These gangs would rob them and get away with little punishment. Poor farmers were incapable of fighting these looters. So they chose to pay them off. They would make some payment in exchange for protection and immunity from plunder.

In those days the usual modes of payment were cattle, grains and copper coins. These were considered black. And this system of exhorting money from poor farmers was called ‘blackmail’. It means ‘black tax’ or ‘black rent’. If a farmer chose to pay in silver coins, then it was called ‘white mail’.Whether your problem is a personal issue or a corporate crisis, contact us now to arrange a confidential discussion.

In the world today, blackmail means to demand money, or other item of value from someone in return for not revealing compromising or injurious information.  ABP World Group’s agents can assist you in dealing with issues arising from this type of fraud as well as personal security issues or corporate crisis.  Contact us now to arrange a confidential discussion.

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2 French journalists charged on allegations of trying to blackmail Moroccan king

September 3, 2015

Source: USnews

French authorities have handed two journalists preliminary extortion charges on accusations that they tried to blackmail Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

A handout picture shows Morocco’s King Mohammed VI giving a speech to mark the 60th anniversary of the People and the King’s Revolution in Rabat on August 20, 2013. AFP PHOTO / Azzouz BoukallouchAZZOUZ BOUKALLOUCH/AFP/Getty Images

The Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday that French writers Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet were released under judicial supervision after being given the charges.

A French lawyer for the king said the journalists demanded 3 million euros ($3.4 million) in exchange for not publishing a compromosing new book about Mohammed VI. He said they were arrested in a sting operation.

The two are known for their critical writings about the king. The case has drawn widespread attention in Morocco, where the monarchy is considered above criticism.

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The 5 biggest organized crime groups in the world

September 3, 2015

Source: Fortune

Cyber crime is grabbing the headlines these days, but the largest criminal gangs are still making most of their money from drugs, sex, and extortion.

It’s tough to go even a few months without seeing the effects of organized crime on the economy and everyday life. The most salient example these days is the rash of thefts of credit card data from big-name retail chains like Home Depot and Target.

While these threats are headline-grabbing and particularly frightening because e-commerce is a relatively new phenomenon and businesses and consumers aren’t totally sure how to protect themselves from hackers, it’s still a drop in the bucket in terms of overall organized crime earnings.

 

A 2013 survey from Javelin Strategy and Research estimates that the annual total loss to Americans due to identity theft was roughly $20 billion. But much of those costs comes from efforts to prevent identity theft or recover from its effects, rather than what thieves earn from their crimes. Compare that to estimates of pure revenue from other forms of organized crime like the drug trade and human trafficking: the Organization of American States estimates that the revenue for cocaine sales in the U.S. has reached $34 billion annually. When you add the market for other illicit drugs and revenue generators like human trafficking and extortion, it becomes clear that organized crime is still making most of its money from its legacy businesses, despite the fact that criminals are always looking for new ways to make a buck.

So, who are the biggest organized crime gangs around the world and how do they make their money? Organized crime revenues are very difficult to estimate, as criminals often spend a significant amount of time trying to hide what they make. Also, “organized crime” is a loosely defined concept. Anything from a vast drug smuggling ring to a handful of car thieves can be classified as organized crime groups, and the cohesiveness of organized crime organizations around the world varies widely. Some groups, like Japan’s Yakuza, are highly organized and hierarchical, allowing economists and crime fighters in Japan to attribute much higher revenue totals to Yakuza groups than others around the world. Here are the top five criminal gangs, ranked by revenue estimates:

1. Yamaguchi Gumi—Revenue: $80 billion

The largest known gang in the world is called the Yamaguchi Gumi, one of several groups collectively referred to in Japan as “Yakuza,” a term that is roughly equivalent to the American use of “mafia.” The Yamaguchi Gumi make more money from drug trafficking than any other source, according to Hiromitsu Suganuma, Japan’s former national police chief. The next two leading sources of revenue are gambling and extortion, followed closely by “dispute resolution.”

The Yakuza date back hundreds of years, and according to Dennis McCarthy, author of An Economic History of Organized Crime, Yakuza groups are among the most centralized in the world. While other East Asian gangs like Chinese Triads, which are a loose conglomeration of criminals bonded together mostly by familial relations, Yakuza are bound together by “elaborate hierarchies,” and members, once initiated, must subvert all other allegiances in favor of the Yakuza. Even with the Japanese government cracking down on Yakuza in recent years, this centralized structure has made it easy to attribute a massive amount of revenue to this single gang.

2. Solntsevskaya Bratva—Revenue: $8.5 billion

Russian mafia groups sit on the other side of the organizational spectrum from Yakuza. Their structure, according to Frederico Varese, a professor of criminology at the University of Oxford and an expert on international organized crime, is highly decentralized. The group is composed of 10 separate quasi-autonomous “brigades” that operate more or less independently of each other. The group does pool its resources, however, and the money is overseen by a 12-person council that “meets regularly in different parts of the world, often disguising their meetings as festive occasions,” Varesi says.

It’s estimated that the group claims upwards of 9,000 members, and that it’s bread and butter is the drug trade and human trafficking. Russian organized crime in general is heavily involved in the heroin trade that originates in Afghanistan: it’s estimated that Russia consumes about 12% of the world’s heroin, while it contains just 0.5% of the world’s population.

3. Camorra—Revenue: $4.9 billion

While the Italian-American mafia has been severely weakened in recent decades by law enforcement, the Italian mafia in the old country is still running strong. Despite years of efforts from citizens, journalists, and government officials, the local governments in Italy remain linked to and protective of various mafia groups, to the point where a 2013 study from the Università Cattolica and the Joint research Centre on Transnational Crime estimated that mafia activities generate revenue of $33 billion dollars, mostly divided among Italy’s four major mafia gangs.

Camorra is the most successful of these groups, raking in an estimated $4.9 billion per year on everything from “sexual exploitation, firearms trafficking, drugs, counterfeiting, gambling … usury and extortion,” according to the report. And Camorra has been at it a long time. Based in Naples, the group’s history dates back to the 19th century, when it was formed initially as a prison gang. As members were released, the group flourished during the bloody political struggles in Italy during the 1800s by offering protection services and as a force for political organization among Italy’s poor.

4. ‘Ndrangheta—Revenue: $4.5 billion

Based in the Calabria region of Italy, the ‘Ndarangheta is the country’s second largest mafia group by revenue. While it is involved in many of the same illicit activities as Camorra, ‘Ndrangheta has made its name for itself by building international ties with South American cocaine dealers, and it controls much of the transatlantic drug market that feeds Europe.

It has also been expanding its operations in the U.S. and has helped prop up the Gambino and Bonnano crime families in New York. In February, Italian and American police forces arrested dozens of ‘Ndrangheta and Gambino family members and charged them with crimes related to the transatlantic drug trade.

5. Sinaloa Cartel—Revenue $3 billion

Sianola is Mexico’s largest drug cartel, one of several gangs that has been terrorizing the Mexican population as it serves as the middleman between South American producers of illegal drugs and an unquenchable American market. The White House Office of Drug Control Policy estimates that Americans spend $100 billion on illegal drugs each year, and the RAND Corporation says that about $6.5 billion of that reaches Mexican cartels. With an estimated 60% market share, Sinola cartel is raking in approximately $3 billion per year.

Despite the fact that Sinaloa’s leader was arrested February, the cartel seems to have avoided the sort of bloody—and costly—succession battle that has plagued some groups when a leader is taken out of commission.

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Italian journalists receive death threats following mafia don’s funeral

September 3, 2015

Source: The guardian

Attacks on investigative reporter and team from Rai 3 politics show come amid indignation over Hollywood-style service for Vittorio Casamonica.

Two journalists, one in Rome and one in Naples, have received death threats for reporting on local crime boss Vittorio Casamonica’s Hollywood-style funeral in Rome.

The ceremony at San Giovanni Bosco church on 21 August prompted indignation as it featured a gilded carriage driven by six horses, a band playing the music from The Godfather, and rose petals being thrown from a helicopter.

The following day, Alessio Viscardi, an investigative reporter for web newspaper Fanpage.it, was in Terzigno, near Naples, looking for the airfield from which the helicopter had taken off. He was approached by four people, who took photographs of his documents.

C5JY0B marlon brando in the godfather 1972

“The attackers came by car after I’d taken a few shots of the airfield,” said Viscardi. “They stopped me and threatened me with death.”

Footage of the episode reveals a clear threat to the journalist, with one of those present saying “I’ll kill you” (“Ti uccido” in Italian).

Viscardi later filed a complaint with local police.

The second attack occurred the next day, in Rome, and involved a team from public TV station Rai 3, including journalist Alfonso Iuliano, his camera operator and sound engineer.

The three, working for the current affairs show Agorà, were shooting video in the Appio area, in which Iuliano knew that several members of the Casamonica family were living. The journalists were stopped and attacked by local residents, who threated them with death if they did not stop filming.

“They said to us they were going to beat us to death, more than once, and from more than one person,” Iuliano said.

The camera operator was left with a few scratches on his arm, while two people, related to Casamonica’s family, were arrested and later charged with robbery after allegedly taking the journalists’ phones.

Luigi de Magistris, the mayor of Naples, expressed his support for Viscardi, saying: “We can’t accept that a journalist is threatened with death.”

In Rome, the attack on the Rai 3 journalists prompted concern from deputy mayor Marco Causi and of transport councillor Stefano Esposito.

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Girlfriend held hostage during tiger kidnapping sues bank

October 22, 2013

Source: Irish independent

THE ex-girlfriend of a bank official forced to hand over €7.6m during a tiger kidnapping is suing the bank for alleged negligence.

 

Stephanie Smith (24) was in a relationship with Bank of Irelandemployee Shane Travers, who on February 26, 2006, was forced, while armed, masked robbers held her and two of her family members hostage, to hand over the money taken from BoI’s premises at College Green, Dublin.

She claims she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression as a result of her ordeal.

In her action against the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, Ms Smith, from Stonebridge House, Badger Hill, Kill, Co Kildare, says the bank failed to have any regard for the health and safety of its employee’s cohabitants.

It is also claimed BoI exposed her to a foreseeable security-related injury and to danger and injury, which it ought to have known. BoI failed in its duty of care to her, it is further alleged. BoI denies all the claims against it. In its defence, BoI denies it owes Ms Smith any duty of care.

Yesterday, when the matter came before High Court President Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, he directed trial of a preliminary issue before the main case.

The issue is whether, on the facts pleaded, BoI owed a duty of care to Ms Smith at common law or had a statutory duty in the terms pleaded in her personal injuries summons.

In his ruling, the judge said while what had happened to Ms Smith was “horrific”, he agreed with lawyers for the bank that what was “a novel” claim should be tried on a preliminary issue.

In her statement of claim, Ms Smith says she and her mother were approached by an armed gang of masked men outside Ms Smith’s home.

CAPTIVE

Mr Travers, who was her cohabitant at the time, and her young nephew were present in the house. All four were taken captive. Mr Travers was warned he would be kneecapped, while one of the gang threatened “to blow her head off”. She claims they were told nothing would happen to them if Mr Travers “did what he was told”. Mr Travers was eventually taken away, while Ms Smith, her mother and nephew were bundled into the back of a van.

After the gang members left the van, Ms Smith managed to free herself and the others. They were picked up in Ashbourne, Co Meath, and were taken to a garda station.

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An analysis of the extortion threat in Mexico

September 28, 2013

Source: RED24.com

Extortion has been an issue in Mexico for a number of years, but came to prominence on 25 August 2011. On this date, as many as ten heavily armed gunmen arrived in three vehicles and entered the Casino Royale in Monterrey, capital of Nuevo Leon state. They doused the facility in fuel and sporadically detonated grenades on the gaming floor.

The final death toll in the casino fire was declared to be 52. Subsequent investigations established that Los Zetas, arguably Mexico’s most prominent drug cartel, was responsible for the incident. According to members of the cartel that were arrested for their involvement, the intention of the attack was to send a message to the owner over his failure to pay an extortion fee to the cartel.

The scale of the extortion problem is assessed to have increased in the two years following the Monterrey incident. The increase in cases from the respective first quarters in 2012 to 2013 alone is believed to be greater than 180 percent. In addition, cases involving foreign firms are reported to have doubled in the same period. This challenges the long-held assumption that extortion has a limited impact on foreign business operations in Mexico.

Extortion is essentially the unlawful extraction of money, property or other concessions through coercion. In Mexico, it is largely a factor of the general insecurity that has accompanied the rise in drug cartel-related violence. Since 2006, when former president Felipe Calderon launched a large-scale anti-narcotics security strategy in an effort to combat organised crime, extortion rates have grown significantly.

Perpetrators and targets
Among the chief perpetrators of extortion in Mexico are drug cartels. The larger of these organisations yield considerable influence in their areas of operation and usually conduct their criminal affairs with a high degree of impunity. Los Zetas, together with the equally pervasive Sinaloa cartel, maintain a presence in a significant number of Mexican cities and smaller organisations have filled the void elsewhere. Although the principal activity of large drug cartels remains the production, trafficking and distribution of a range of narcotics, the pressure put on drug cartels by an ongoing government offensive and increased competition have meant that these groups have diversified their criminal activities in order to augment their revenues. Among these activities, extortion has been particularly lucrative.

Amid general insecurity perpetuated in large part by the presence of several influential drug cartels in the country, opportunistic unprofessional extortion has grown. This group of perpetrators has piggy-backed on the fear instilled by drug groups to threaten victims during extortion attempts. Under the guise of being part of a cartel, the lay-criminal can conduct extortion without the necessary capability or motivation to carry out threats. Apart from drug cartels and opportunistic criminals, there are also a proportion of extortion attempts instigated by criminal organisations that do not partake in drug trafficking activities. The extent to which criminal organisations will follow through on threats is largely contingent on the professionalism of the group.

Until fairly recently (roughly 2006), local and family-owned businesses were discriminately targeted by extortionists. This was fundamentally due to the ease with which perpetrators could identify those with control over the finances of the enterprise. Smaller local firms are also more likely to have cash available on demand. However, there has been a significant expansion in the potential targets of extortions in recent years. Indeed, statistics and anecdotal evidence suggest that the full revenue-spectrum of businesses and the full range of income-earners are targeted.

Another departure from the status quo in recent years has been the willingness for extortionists to target foreign companies or those with interests in these companies. Statistics on the extent of the crime among foreign firms aren’t easily accessible; this is largely due to the lack of reporting and undesirability of this becoming common knowledge. However, at least one survey indicates that as many as 36 percent of foreign firms fell victim to extortion in 2012.

Characteristics of extortion in Mexico
It is assessed that the majority of extortion incidents in Mexico are initiated via telephone. Although random cold-calls are common (often initiated from within the Mexican prison system), potential victims are usually researched by means of reconnaissance to establish how much money can be extorted. In addition, information on the victim’s family and other aspects of their personal life can be used by the perpetrator to bolster the threat. In communication with the victim, the perpetrator will make a demand and the threat of violence to the victims or to their family, property or business interests will be used to encourage an expedient result for the perpetrator. In other cases of telephone-based extortion, the perpetrator may claim to have already kidnapped somebody related to the victim in some way. In this case, the release of the victim is contingent on meeting the extortion demands.

Those involved in extortion are increasingly directly approaching business owners and employees. This method is common in areas with a significant organised crime group presence. As with telephone-initiated extortion, threats to person and property accompany demands. Often justified as protection money or ‘derecho de piso’, extortionists may make demands of victims on a regular basis. This can lead to an extortion racket that can extend to other businesses in the area or industry.

The amount demanded in revenue-motivated extortions varies greatly. This is dependent somewhat on the professionalism of the perpetrators, the size of the company, and the perceived revenue that said company draws. In virtual extortions, demands of as low as US$400 are not uncommon, while larger companies may be victims of attempts to extort as much as US$200,000. In addition, racketeering can see larger companies pay up to US$20,000 per month to those perpetrating extortion.

States worst affected by the crime include Morelos, where as many as 34 incidents are recorded per 100,000 of the population, Durango (17 per 10,000), Baja California (16 per 100,000), Chihuahua 13 per 100,000), Jalisco (12 per 100,000), as well as Mexico City (11 per 100,000). At this point, it is worthwhile reiterating that reporting rates are believed to be exceedingly low and that the actual rate of extortion could be as much as double those listed above. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests an extortion rate nearer to 100 per 100,000 in some areas of worst-affected states. Furthermore, local sources report that, in some major cities, few city-centre businesses are exempt from extortion attempts.

Advice
Given its effectiveness as a crime and the relatively low risk to the perpetrators, extortion incidents are unlikely to decline in the short- to medium-term. Those intending to operate in the country should explicitly address the risk as part of their due diligence assessments and are advised to consider ways to mitigate the threat. These measures include developing a crisis response plan and process; assigning crisis management roles and responsibilities; and, conducting training and role-play exercises to simulate extortion situations. This should ideally be done together with a security organisation that specialises in dealing with kidnap for ransom and extortion (KRE). In-country personnel should be made aware of how to deal with extortion attempts and, at the very least, keep a low public profile, avoid disseminating unnecessary company and personal information, and remain calm and measured in communication with the perpetrators.

 

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Amnesty Int’l: Disappearances in Mexico a ‘Crisis’

June 5 , 2013

Source: ABC News

Amnesty International: Kidnappings in Mexico a ‘Crisis’

The number of unsolved disappearances in Mexico constitutes a national scandal and a human rights crisis, Amnesty International said Tuesday, citing what it called a systematic failure by police and prosecutors to investigate thousands of cases that have piled up since 2006.

Rupert Knox, Amnesty’s Mexico investigator, said relatives are often forced to search for missing loved ones themselves, sometimes at considerable risk.

Adding insult to injury, Knox said police and prosecutors often don’t even bother to use the information that relatives dig up. Instead, police routinely assume that the missing are caught up in Mexico’s drug cartel conflicts.

“They are stigmatized, they are treated with disdain, and the typical thing is to say the victims were members of criminal gangs,” Knox said. “That is a demonstration of the negligence that has allowed this problem to grow into a national scandal and a human rights crisis.”

The federal government says some 26,000 people have been reported missing since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006, though officials have said the true number is probably lower, because some people reported missing have since been found or accounted for but never taken off the list.

Brenda Rangel is the sister of Hector Rangel, who disappeared along with two friends in 2009 after being stopped by police for a traffic violation and was never seen again. She is sure her brother wasn’t involved in criminal activity. A young businessman, he had gone to the northern state of Coahuila, which is a hotbed of the Zetas drug gang, to collect a payment from a client.

Rangel says her brother last called to say he was in police custody, and she said the family has given authorities the number of the squad car, and even the names of the policemen involved in the detention. But she said prosecutors told her the officers were fired from the local police force in Monclova, Coahuila, and couldn’t be located. In Mexico, it is not uncommon for local policemen to work for drug gangs.

Nearing the fourth year in her brother’s disappearance, that kind of shrugging response is driving Rangel and her family to desperation, and into danger, since they can’t let it rest.

“We have received death threats,” she said, adding: “I have run risks, I have gone into safe houses, I have had to disguise myself in different ways to look for my brother.”

One by one, other parents and siblings of missing Mexicans stood up and recounted their horror stories: cases in which authorities themselves, police or the military, appear to have been involved in the disappearances.

Mexico’s government announced last week that it is creating a special unit to search for missing people. But the unit has only 12 federal investigators and a group of federal police agents to cover all the cases.

Knox said such agencies have been tried before in Mexico but have accomplished little, in part because they have lacked the resources, manpower and authority to really perform their task.

“The authorities have always seen them (the special units) as a way to reduce public pressure and blow off steam,” Knox said.

While Rangel and the other victims’ families maintain faith that their loved ones are still alive, perhaps subjected to forced labor by the drug cartels, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission has received information on 15,921 unidentified bodies that have passed through morgues in Mexico, some of which could belong to the missing.

A recent case in Mexico City has highlighted the difficulties surrounded cases of suspected disappearances.

On May 26, a group of young people disappeared from a Mexico City after-hours bar just off the city’s main Reforma boulevard, a block and a half from the U.S. Embassy. Relatives had initially indicated 11 people were missing, but authorities raised the number of 12 Tuesday night.

 

The young people were from the rough-and-tumble Tepito neighborhood and their disappearance only came to light after their parents and other Tepito residents held a protest that blocked a major road. Media reports later said that the fathers of two of the missing young men were suspected former Tepito crime bosses currently doing time in prison.

A witness who said he escaped from the abduction said the young people were taken away by gunmen in masks after partying through the night at the bar. Prosecutors said Tuesday night that surveillance video was found showing the young people entering the bar, but wouldn’t say if there was footage showing them leaving or being abducted.

The witness who reported the kidnapping can no longer be found. The bar’s owner also is missing, but prosecutors said Tuesday night that two waiters and a woman had been detained in the case.

The families have put up missing-person posters with photos of their loved ones throughout the area, and say that almost 10 days later they still have not come home.

 

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