Stop Kidnapping: 123 cases were recorded in March, a monthly decrease of 15.1%

The number of kidnapping victims in Mexico dropped to 123 in March, a monthly decrease of 15.1% from 138 in January, the civil association Stop the Kidnapping reported Monday.

In its monthly report, the organization detailed that in March the number of detainees related to the crime of kidnapping decreased by 23.3%, since in the last month 92 persons were arrested for this crime, while in February 120 suspected persons were arrested.

Meanwhile, the commission of the crime of kidnapping increased slightly, by 5.9 per cent, from 84 investigation kits initiated in February to 89 in March.

The states with the highest incidence were in the State of Mexico with 16 cases, Veracruz with 13 and Chihuahua with seven.

On the other hand, there were seven states that did not record any kidnappings in March: Aguascalientes, Sinaloa, Colima, Tabasco, Durango, Yucatan and Queretaro.

However, comparing the rates per 100,000 inhabitants, Morelo came first, Chihuahua second, Veracruz third, followed by Baja California and finally San Luis Potosí.

In the accumulated since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, there have been 4,558 kidnappings. On the order of 27 weekly and 114 monthly.

In the same period, 5,920 victims of kidnapping and 5,150 detainees were recorded.

Also in the cumulative incidence, the states that rank first in the number of abductions recorded are Veracruz (839), the State of Mexico (740) and Mexico City (391).

The figure of 4,558 kidnappings during the government of López Obrador is 39.5% lower than the 7,546 kidnappings that occurred during the same period of his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).

Mexico recorded 33,315 homicides in 2021 after the two most violent years in its history, under the leadership of López Obrador, with 34,690 murder victims in 2019 and 34,554 in 2020.

In the first two months of the year, the country accumulated 4,697 intentional homicides.