Extortion or Kidnapping

Genaro García Luna says that the crime with the most worrying upward trend in recent years is not kidnapping, but extortion. That's more of a reflection of the relative absence of extortion five years ago than it is the present danger is poses to Mexican society compared to kidnapping. We hear a lot more about kidnapping, partly because it's a lot more frightening to imagine happening to you, and also because kidnapping stories make for more sensational news stories than do extortions. But I think you could argue that the rise of extortion as a regular tool of Mexican criminal gangs has a larger impact on Mexico as a whole, beyond the unfortunate slice of society who are its victims.