Kidnapped in Mexico

**Warning: This programme contains strong language and graphic descriptions of violence**
Mexico, with its history of drug-war violence and corrupt police, has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world. Official figures for 2015 state that just over 1500 people were taken. Unofficially the figures are said to be much higher - running into the tens of thousands.

In the past, the crime tended to target the rich but now it has become much more egalitarian. Victims these days are often shopkeepers, taxi drivers, service employees and people working in Mexico’s informal economy. Victims tend to be young – students with parents willing to pay ransoms, are frequently targeted. Kidnapping and ransom operations form a large part of drug cartels’ criminal portfolio. With a lack of trust in the authorities there has been a significant rise in the number of private negotiators who deal with the ransom negotiations. The BBC’s Vladmir Hernandez has obtained exclusive access into the world of these private negotiators and tells their rarely told story. He also has a disturbing interview with a kidnapper.

(Image: An illustration of a kidnapping in Mexico, animation by Luis Ruibal)