Extortion Reports Surge 50% in Quintana Roo as Trust in Authorities Grows

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Extortion investigations in Quintana Roo surged more than 50% in 2025, a rise officials attribute to greater public confidence in reporting the crime.

According to James Tobin Cunningham, state coordinator of the Citizen Security and Justice Board, formal inquiries into extortion increased from 134 cases in 2024 to 202 last year. He said the jump reflects victims losing their fear of approaching prosecutors.

The State Prosecutor’s Office reported more than 324 arrests linked to extortion, with 96% of those detained successfully bound over for trial — a rate Tobin called a historic institutional achievement.

“We are seeing a phenomenon I would like to see across the country,” Tobin said. “We are getting positive results from the strategy. It is a great achievement because before we did not even have people arrested for this crime.”

So far, 33 sentences have been handed down, which Tobin described as progress against the impunity that plagued previous years.

In the first quarter of 2026, authorities opened 47 new extortion investigation files, a pace similar to last year. However, Tobin stressed that the main challenge remains reducing the “dark figure” of unreported crimes, which historically reached nearly 99% due to fear of reprisals. That figure has since dropped to 97%, and security committees aim to bring it below 95% by the end of June.

Tobin urged the public to file formal criminal complaints rather than relying solely on anonymous reports to the 089 hotline. While anonymous tips help launch field investigations and catch suspects in the act, he warned that without a formal complaint, legal gaps often allow alleged offenders to go free.