Neither a Constitutional Reform, an Agreement with the 32 States, nor a National Strategy Has Managed to Contain Extortion in Mexico
Extortion has become one of the most persistent crimes in Mexico. During President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, the offense reached historic levels and, for the first time, exceeded 1,000 victims in a single month.
This July 6 marks one year since President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration launched the National Strategy Against Extortion as an effort to reduce the crime, but its results have been limited.
According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), between June 2025 (before the strategy began) and May 2026 (the latest available data), the crime decreased by 2%, dropping from 972 victims to 962.
However, in March and April 2026, extortion surpassed the threshold of 1,000 victims nationwide in a single month for the first time.
“Is the anti-extortion strategy really working? The victim data would suggest that it is not. During the first 19 months of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration, there were 14,448 victims, while during the same period under President Sheinbaum there have already been 18,554,” said Daniela Osorio, data analyst at the organization Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD).
An Unstoppable Crime
During the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, extortion began to rise significantly and even reached record numbers of victims.
When López Obrador assumed the presidency in 2018, the country recorded 6,895 victims. By the end of his six-year term, that figure had increased to 10,240, with 2022 reaching 11,039 victims.
Following the change in administration, the upward trend continued, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to announce a strategy aimed at containing the crime.
“It is the crime that is increasing, the one we have not been able to reduce. Homicides and other high-impact crimes are decreasing, and we are working to accelerate that decline,” the president said on July 7, one day after Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch presented the strategy.
Although extortion declined during the first months after the strategy was implemented, it later surged again and reached new record levels.
The daily average increased from 19 victims per day in 2018 to 29 victims every 24 hours in 2025, representing a 52% increase.
Internationally, Mexico ranks among the five countries with the highest levels of extortion, alongside Libya, Colombia, Honduras, and Somalia, with annual economic losses estimated at 900 million dollars, according to the Global Organized Crime Index, produced by a Geneva-based research organization.
The Organized Crime Factor
Organized crime has significantly contributed to the increase in extortion throughout the country. As criminal organizations seek to diversify their revenue sources, they have expanded into illegal activities such as protection rackets.
“Following a complex period of intense criminal wars, together with confrontations between organized crime groups and Mexican state forces, these organizations have seen their revenues decline, encouraging them to diversify their criminal activities and income sources. As a result, extortion, robbery, and the illegal extraction of natural resources have increased,” states the report Businesses Under Fire by the organization México Evalúa.
Across the country, thousands of people are victims of extortion payments, including lime growers, avocado producers, truck drivers, shop owners, taxi drivers, and business owners. Very few sectors remain unaffected.
“Organized crime is also deeply involved in extortion. Tepito is a major example because numerous merchants have publicly reported being extorted by different criminal groups demanding protection payments,” Daniela Osorio explained.
Juan José Sierra Álvarez, national president of COPARMEX, argues that paying extortion has a direct impact on the economy.
“The economic consequences are immediate. Every business that stops investing out of fear loses its capacity for growth. Every company forced to close because of extortion represents lost jobs, fewer opportunities, and communities that lose economic momentum,” he wrote in his article The Alarming Growth of Extortion.
Several extortion cases have shocked Mexico, including Irma Hernández, a retired teacher from Veracruz who was murdered after refusing to pay an extortion fee; Bernardo Bravo, a leader of lime producers in Michoacán who repeatedly denounced extortion; and Carlos Manzo, former mayor of Uruapan, who stated:
“We are surrounded by criminal groups dedicated to extortion and murder.”
Organizations such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel, and La Familia Michoacana are among those that engage in extortion as a way to diversify their income. At the local level, groups such as La Unión Tepito, Los Viagras, and Los Ardillos are also involved.
Arrests Have Not Contained the Problem
On June 16, the Secretary of Public Security reported that 1,468 extortion suspects had been arrested as a result of the National Strategy Against Extortion.
Among those arrested are Ernesto Rafael “N,” alias “Sierra 1,” linked to the murder of a mezcal producer in Morelia; Óscar “N,” identified as an operational leader of the Knights Templar in Uruapan, Michoacán; Carlos Alejandro “N,” alias “Botox,” accused of being the principal extortionist targeting lime producers in Michoacán; and Cirilo “N,” alias “El Capi,” along with Servando “N,” members of the criminal group Los Viagras, among others.
Asael Nuche González, spokesperson and researcher for the organization Causa en Común, argues that these arrests have had little impact on reducing the crime.
“The arrests that have been announced are not an indicator that the fight against this crime is progressing, much less that impunity is being reduced,” he said.
According to Nuche, impunity is precisely why the government’s strategy has failed to contain extortion. If extortionists are not reported and therefore never punished, they are free to continue committing crimes.
“The latest National Survey of Victimization and Public Security Perception shows that extortion had the highest dark figure of any crime. That means there were an enormous number of victims who never reported what happened. Only 3% report the crime, while the remaining 97% represent the hidden portion of the iceberg,” Daniela Osorio explained.
“If people do not trust that there will be justice and no impunity, they simply do not report the crime.”
Daniela Osorio, MUCD.
If impunity is not addressed, none of the measures announced in July 2025 as part of the National Strategy—including investigation-based arrests, the creation of local anti-extortion units, and a nationwide prevention campaign—will be enough to contain extortion.
“It is essential to reduce the hidden figure because there are enormous numbers of people who never report crimes. That is deeply concerning, not only for extortion but for every type of crime. What is happening within the justice system? The State must guarantee people’s right to live in peace, with justice and without impunity,” Daniela Osorio concluded.
Source: politica.expansion
