Kidnapping Stats, Wednesday Edition

The PGR, Mexico's version of the Department of Justice, released a report showing strong links between drug cartels and kidnappers. From the beginning of 2007 through May 2008, federal forces arrested 273 people for kidnapping. (Concrete numbers are impossible to obtain, but, based on an estimate of between three and four kidnappings a day, there were around 1,800 total kidnappings during that period.) Of those arrested, 40 percent belonged to the Gulf or the Tijuana cartels. The article leaves a lot of details uncovered: is the Sinaloa cartel not kidnapping, or just not getting caught? Are cartel kidnappers more likely to be caught than independent kidnapping rings because they are already being watched because of their involvement in drug trafficking? Are they kidnapping people uninvolved in the drug trade simply as a means to raise cash, or are the abductions a way to intimidate associates? In any event, the report make the connection between the two activities seem more significant than anything else I've read.