Business leaders in Oaxaca warned of an increase in extortion and protection rackets targeting small businesses and shops in the state, noting that more than 90 percent of extortion calls originate from prisons, according to official data cited by private sector leaders.
José Rivera Espina, president of the Business Leaders Promoting Oaxacan Development Association, stated that insecurity and telephone threats are leaving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially those operating formally, vulnerable.
“The problem of extortion and protection rackets is putting the business sector in a difficult situation,” said Rivera Espina, who asserted that most threatening or fraudulent calls come from inside prisons, where, he said, control and security failures persist.
Rivera Espina maintained that in Oaxaca, only about 20 percent of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operate within the formal sector, a situation that, he asserted, makes them more visible and vulnerable to crimes such as extortion, robbery, and protection rackets.
“Businesses have to pay municipal, state, and federal taxes, and now they also face protection rackets,” he stated.
The business representative indicated that extortion complaints don’t always reach the authorities due to the victims’ fear and because, in many cases, the threats are made online or by phone.
He added that workshops, small restaurants, convenience stores, and small shops are the most exposed sectors because they operate directly with the public and have less capacity to protect themselves against criminal groups.
According to local business owners, cases of protection rackets and extortion calls have been reported to law enforcement agencies; however, they pointed out that there is still no specific strategy to address this problem in the state.
Data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System indicates that extortion remains a high crime rate nationwide, while security experts warn that a significant portion of fraudulent calls and telephone threats originate from prisons.
In Oaxaca, business chambers and merchants have repeatedly warned about the economic and operational impact of telephone threats and extortion, particularly on family businesses and small establishments.
The private sector called for increased security measures in prisons, improved investigative mechanisms, and stronger coordination between state and federal authorities to contain extortion networks operating via telephone.
Meanwhile, business owners indicated that many businesses continue to implement their own security measures, such as security cameras and internal monitoring, due to a perception of insufficient institutional protection.
Source: oem
