Overview
- The Justice and Legislative Studies committees unanimously approved an amended bill and sent it to the full Senate for a vote.
- The draft sets a unified national sentence of 15 to 25 years for extortion, replacing the 6 to 15 years previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
- Aggravating factors such as protection-fee schemes, use of the financial system, or targeting electoral candidates can add up to 17 years, bringing the maximum to 42.
- People convicted of extortion would be barred from early release, commutation, or other pre-release benefits under the national prison execution law.
- The proposal mandates ex officio prosecution, orders measures to block calls from prisons, penalizes smuggling communication devices into jails with six to 12 years, and is expected to return to Deputies before moving to the Executive if approved by the Senate.