Top 10 places where tourists get kidnapped

The top 10 threat areas for kidnap for ransom have been identified. The crime has become a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon that is now occurring more frequently, and in more locations across the world.

The top 10 list, which is of greatest relevance to foreign nationals or local individuals of high-net worth, shows that historically risky locations such as Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia continue to experience very high levels of kidnapping, hostage taking, piracy and extortion. However, places such as Iraq, Pakistan and Nigeria also feature.

A variety of criteria, including official and unofficial statistics, anecdotal evidence, overall crime levels and the kidnap risk posed by issues such as political instability, terrorism and police corruption.

Other locations where kidnap for ransom has been identified as a significant or growing threat include Afghanistan, Somalia, the Sahel-Sahara region of Northern Africa, Kenya, India, China, Yemen and the Philippines, although not all of them made it on to the top 10.

Kidnapping statistics are difficult to obtain – primarily because incident classifications vary from country to country and many kidnappings are not reported for fear of retaliation by the kidnappers or fear of police corruption and ineptitude. However, the official data available – covering Nigeria, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, plus piracy victims off Somalia and NGO kidnap victims in Afghanistan – reveals that there was a nine percent increase in kidnapping incidents between 2010 and 2011.

Overall, 50 percent of extortion-related kidnappings are resolved within five days or less and 90 percent are resolved within 50 days. However, in terms of Somalia piracy, only 10 percent are resolved within 50 days or under and an estimated 50 percent of incidents last over 100 days, while 40 percent last over 200 days and at least two incidents have exceeded a year.

Kidnap for ransom is a growing, global threat. The crime, which was once
synonymous with Colombia and the wider Latin America region, has spread to more locations across the world, making it a risk that both businesses sending employees abroad and individual travelers cannot afford to ignore.

“Companies and individuals operating and travelling in these regions need to be fully aware of the risks and ensure they take the necessary security precautions. They also need to have an emergency response program in place in case they should fall victim to this fast-growing crime.

Travelers should keep a low profile, avoid routines and avoid mentioning their company name, or nature of their business in the country, to strangers.

Top 10 threat areas for kidnap for ransom in 2012:

1. Afghanistan: Around 950 kidnappings for ransom per year but foreign
exposure is currently limited due to travel restrictions.

2. Somalia: The offshore threat is well established; 24 vessels were seized in 2011 with over 400 hostages taken (and 265 still held captive).

3. Iraq: No official figures are available for 2011, but red24’s anecdotal evidence suggests the risks remain high. The country provides a complex kidnapping risk environment with criminal, terrorist and politically- motivated parties all carrying out kidnappings.

4. Nigeria: The country records well in excess of 1,000 kidnappings for ransom a year.

5. Pakistan: Official statistics reveal over 15,000 kidnappings a year and the true number is likely to be higher due to underreporting. However, only 10-20% of abductions are for ransom.

6. Yemen: Over 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped over the past 20 years.

7. Venezuela: Official statistics revealed over 1,000 kidnappings for ransom in the first ten months of 2011, and the country has one of the highest per capita rates of abduction in the world.

8. Mexico: Official statistics for 2011 are likely to reveal over 2,000 kidnappings for ransom. However, the actual number is far higher and the Mexican NGO, Consejo para la Ley y los Derechos Humanos (CLDH), reported that its statistics revealed some 17,889 kidnaps.

9. Haiti: Incident numbers now in the low hundreds, which is a significant
decline on 2006 when some 720 incidents were recorded. However, a
significant threat persists and per capita abduction rates are second only to Venezuela.

10.Colombia: Despite a significant reduction in incidents over the past ten years, incident numbers in recent years are still high with 258 kidnappings recorded by the authorities in 2011.

Here is a recent case:

Colombian police early on Saturday rescued two Spanish tourists held captive by a criminal gang for nearly a month in northern Colombia, finding them sleeping in hammocks, and two men collecting a ransom were arrested in Spain, police officials said.

Maria Concepcion Marlaska, 43, and Angel Fernandez, 49, were seized on May 17 while traveling by car to the popular tourist destination of Cabo de la Vela on Colombia’s northern peninsula.

“They are free and in good health,” Colonel Elber Velasco, commander of La Guajira province police, told reporters. “It was a lightning rescue that required very important intelligence, an operation that did not require the use of weapons.”

As part of a coordinated effort with Spanish authorities, a ransom worth 500,000 euros (US$667,000) was paid in Madrid, General Humberto Guatibonza, head of Colombia’s anti-kidnapping police, told reporters.

Spanish police later arrested the two bag-men, one Spanish and one from Syria, he said. The cash was recovered.

The tourists were freed just after midnight near the city of Maicao on a stretch of land which juts into the Caribbean Sea and borders northwestern Venezuela.

Police officials said no arrests were made during the rescue and gave no other details about the operation beyond saying the couple were found sleeping in hammocks.

The couple was held in the homes of several Wayuu Indians close to the border with Venezuela. They were chained at times, according to Velasco.

“The criminals moved them from place to place in order to disorientate them and make them feel that they were at times in Colombia and at times in Venezuela,” said Guatibonza.

Marlaska and Fernandez were driving in the desert-like La Guajira province when they were stopped in a robbery attempt, Guatibonza said. When the robbers realized they were foreigners, they decided to take them captive.

President Juan Manuel Santos said on his Twitter account that he spoke to them after their release and apologized for their ordeal.

FARC blamed first

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country’s biggest rebel group, last month denied accusations that it was holding the tourists, but Spanish news reports said the kidnappers had identified themselves as members of the Marxist-led guerrilla group when they contacted the family of the victims to demand the ransom.

The FARC and Colombian government began talks in November to try to end a war that began with the rebel group’s formation in 1964 as a communist agrarian reform movement.

The FARC last year halted the taking of hostages and has repeatedly said the order was being followed by the entire rebel force.

The group has a history of kidnapping to raise money for its struggle against the government, but rebel leaders called a stop to the practice to encourage the peace process.

It is not unusual for criminals to claim kidnappings or other actions in the FARC’s name.