Kidnappings take a toll

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MEXICO CITY - With a broad grin beneath his black shades, Jesus Solorzano Martinez says he was stupid -- although his language isn't quite that pretty.

Solorzano is a rarity in Latin America -- a kidnapper who got caught.

His first and only kidnapping netted duffel bags full of neatly rubber-banded wads of bank notes on the outside and cut-up newspaper on the inside. Within hours, police were at his door.

Now 52 and a 14-year veteran of Mexico City's Northern Penitentiary, he regrets what he did -- or rather how he did it. He says he should have gone for easier targets and asked for less than the $19 million ransom as his younger counterparts do these days.

"You go to a nice neighborhood and pick up practically anyone off the street," said Solorzano, who is serving a 35-year sentence for kidnapping a textile magnate. "You ask for [$17,000], and they pay without complaining. If you do five of those a week, pretty soon you're rich."

Wave of crime

Latin America is in the throes of a kidnapping epidemic -- an increasingly brutal and lucrative crime wave that is spreading terror throughout society and sending businesses fleeing to safer parts of the world.

Latin America accounts for 75 percent of the world's abductions, according to London-based consultants Control Risks Group. The insurance industry estimates more than 7,500 kidnappings a year in Latin America, but analysts say those statistics and government counts aren't reliable because so few kidnappings are reported -- 1 in 10 by some estimates.

"Latin America is the home of kidnapping, and it's where the great majority of kidnappings take place," said Rachel Briggs, head of international programs at Demos, a London think tank.

As the wealthy shut themselves off behind elaborate alarm systems, armored cars and bodyguards -- or simply flee to Miami -- kidnappers are increasingly turning to Latin America's middle classes, choosing victims with less care and treating them with more brutality.