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Mexico Reports 14% Drop in Extortion Complaints After Anti-Extortion Strategy Launch

Officials credit prison telecom blockages plus arrests for the recent downtick.

Overview

  • The government says average daily extortion complaints fell 14% between October 2024 and October 2025 following the July rollout of the National Strategy against Extortion.
  • Complaint levels remain elevated versus the 2019 baseline, with a 22.9% increase for January–October 2025 and a rise in the daily average to 31.30 from 25.48, after peaking at 36 in February 2025.
  • Authorities report 2,398 extortion phone lines identified with 56% concentrated in 12 prisons, and 33% of reported lines blocked through antenna removals in Altamira and Matamoros and a 3G/4G shutdown at Santa Martha Acatitla.
  • Officials cite 478 detentions for extortion across 22 states and claim more than 62,000 extortions were prevented since the strategy began.
  • Coparmex notes 8,585 victims from January to September 2025, a 5.2% annual increase with an estimated 97% underreporting, points to heavy impacts on small firms in the northern border region, and urges Senate approval of a national anti-extortion law as authorities plan to extend prison blocks nationwide by early 2026.