Another Reason for the Wall

AP: Group: Mexican Gangs More Likely to Kill---

MEXICO CITY - Kidnappers in Mexico are far more likely to kill their victims than are their counterparts in Colombia, the country long considered to have the world's worst abduction record, an anti-crime group said Monday.

About one out of every seven people kidnapped in Mexico died at the hands of their captors in 2005, compared to one out of every 26 victims in Colombia, according to a report by the Citizen Council for Public Safety, a private-sector think tank.

It said Mexico overtook Colombia as the country with the most reported kidnappings in the first six months of 2005 with 194 cases, compared to 172 in Colombia. The group said it used figures provided by governments of both countries and expected the trend would hold for the entire year.

"We are seeing a larger number of victims murdered during kidnappings," said Jose Antonio Ortega, president of the Citizen Council.

While some kidnappers in Mexico may kill their victims to eliminate witnesses or because they have botched a kidnapping, others use violence selectively, Ortega said.

"We have seen cases in which they have sent videos of victims being tortured to their families, to get bigger ransoms," Ortega said. "The gangs are becoming more sophisticated."

Ortega said police or former police officers were involved in many kidnappings.

And another reason not to go there!