The Global Advisor - Spotlight on Latin America - 18.03.26

This report aims to provide readers with an indicative snapshot of kidnap, threat and extortive incidents captured by Control Risks’ Special Risks Analysis team to inform wider trends across Latin America. The following cases are open-source incidents taken from Control Risks’ records. These cases were selected based on their reliable sources and illustrative nature but do not represent the full extent of the problem.

The Global Advisor:

Spotlight on Latin America March 2026

This report aims to provide readers with an indicative snapshot of kidnap, threat and extortive incidents in Latin America, based on data captured by Control Risks’ Special Risks Analysis team. The cases that follow are open-source incidents taken from Control Risks’ records, selected based on their reliable sources and illustrative nature. Although useful to inform wider trends impacting businesses across the region, they do not represent the full extent of the problem. For further analysis or information please contact our Special Risks Analysis team at specialrisksanalysis@controlrisks.com

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026

Brazil Criminals abduct an engineer after luring him to a location in São Paulo (São Paulo state) on a dating app Criminals on 20 January kidnapped a 53-year-old engineer after luring him to a residence in São Paulo using a dating app. The kidnappers held him captive in the house for two days and forced him to make incremental bank transfers. The criminals then released the victim from the residence on 22 January.

Location of recorded incidents in January and February 2026

Source: Tom Tom

Control Risks comment

São Paulo state remains Brazil’s kidnap hotspot, accounting for over 25% of all verified incidents in 2025 and 40% of incidents in 2026 so far. Criminals in the state will continue to deploy lure tactics such as using dating apps, posting fake online ads, and posing as taxi or rideshare drivers. Criminals carefully select the area in which their victims are intercepted to reduce exposure to authorities.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Chile

Criminals kidnap an Ecuadorian businesswoman in Santiago (Santiago Metropolitan Region) Criminals kidnapped an Ecuadorian trader in the Barrio Meiggs area of central Santiago on 20 February. The kidnappers then contacted the woman’s partner and demanded a large financial ransom for her release. Police confirmed to the media that they had launched an investigation the same day, although the whereabouts of the victim was still undetermined.

Control Risks comment

Santiago Metropolitan Region will remain Chile’s kidnapping hotspot in 2026, as both local gangs and transnational organised criminal groups (OCGs) continue to operate in the city. Higher capacity groups, including factions aligned with Venezuelan OCG Tren de Aragua, will retain the ability to profile wealthy victims, particularly local business owners, and abduct them from their homes or businesses. These factions will continue to infiltrate and exploit diaspora communities in Santiago, elevating the risk for wealthy foreign nationals in the region.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Colombia

Military rescues three kidnap victims, including a business traveller, in Juan de Acosta (Atlántico department)

Criminals pose as rideshare driver to kidnap a victim in Bogotá (Cundinamarca department) On 5 February, criminals posing as rideshare drivers kidnapped a citizen who requested a pick-up in the Ciudad Bolívar area of Bogotá. The perpetrators forced the victim into the boot of the car. Details of a ransom demand were not reported, but police noticed the vehicle’s path was erratic and pulled the perpetrators over, before rescuing the victim. The perpetrators then escaped on foot.

On 11 January, an armed group kidnapped three individuals, including one man who had travelled to Barranquilla (Atlántico department) to do business. The kidnappers then transferred the victims to a safe house in Juan de Acosta, where they demanded a large financial ransom for their release. Military personnel rescued the victims, arresting two perpetrators on 22 January.

Control Risks comment

The incident occurred after a 360% year-on-year increase in financially motivated kidnappings in Bogotá for 2025, according to police statistics. Given the often-opportunistic nature of kidnapping in the city, frequent commuters, particularly those using taxis or rideshares, will face an elevated risk in 2026. Business travellers and tourists, including foreign nationals, also face risk: approximately 7% of kidnap victims in Bogotá were foreign national tourists in 2025, according to the Control Risks database.

Business owners accounted for 59% of verified victims in the Atlántico department between 2021 and 2026. This trend stems from high-capacity groups, including the Gulf Clan. The kidnappers retain the capabilities and resources to transport victims from busy areas of Barranquilla to safe houses in less populous towns and rural villages in the department.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Ecuador

Haiti Gang members abduct a judge travelling between Port-au-Prince and Kenscoff (Ouest department) On 24 January, armed criminals abducted the victim as he travelled on the highway from Port‑au‑Prince to Kenscoff. Two days later, the Port‑au‑Prince Court of Appeals confirmed that the judge remained in the custody of the perpetrators who were demanding a large financial ransom for his release.

Police rescue Peruvian businessman abducted in El Empalme (Guayas province) Criminals on 22 January kidnapped a Peruvian business owner as he was travelling around El Empalme for work. The kidnappers moved him to a safe house in the north of Guayaquil and sent photos and videos of the victim to his family in Peru, along with a demand for a large financial ransom. The family reported the incident to the National Police of Peru, which subsequently coordinated with Ecuador’s specialised anti-kidnapping unit, UNASE, to investigate the crime. Officers rescued the victim from the safe house the following day.

Control Risks comment

The Ouest department will continue to face a kidnap risk in 2026 which we rate as EXTREME, with Port-au-Prince remaining the national hotspot. Kenscoff and neighbouring municipalities will likely register a growing number of incidents as gangs expand their territorial control, despite efforts from local police and the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS). Most attacks will remain indiscriminate and involve the simultaneous abduction of multiple victims. However, government officials, individuals displaying visible signs of wealth, local business owners and employees of multinational organisations will continue to face elevated exposure due to their perceived ransom potential.

The kidnapping threat for business owners and commercial personnel will remain pervasive in the Guayas province throughout 2026. Between 2023 and 2026, around 38% of identified victims were small or medium-sized business owners, while 42% were commercial employees. Affluent foreign nationals, especially business owners who are well known within their community, will also face a heightened risk. In the same period, around 18% of kidnap victims who owned businesses were not Ecuadorian.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Honduras

Criminals demand ransom from employer after virtual kidnapping of three gas deliverymen in Cedros (Francisco Morazán department) Criminals lured three gas company employees to a rural location in Cedros by ordering a large delivery of gas cylinders on 6 January. The gas company lost contact with the employees after they arrived at the location and began receiving calls from the criminals, who claimed to have kidnapped them and demanded a large ransom for their release. Police responded to the employer’s report and located the victims safe and alone in Cedros, confirming the case was a virtual kidnap.

Control Risks comment

Virtual kidnaps rose sharply in Honduras in 2025, compared to previous years, when the scam did not pose a significant threat. This incident highlights the most common tactic deployed by virtual kidnappers in the country; the criminals contact businesses offering call-out and delivery services, typically utilities and construction companies, and lure them to rural areas. The scammers then convince the employees that they are surrounded by armed criminals and coerce them into ceasing contact with their employer, whom the criminals subsequently contact to demand ransoms. Similar incidents are likely to persist in Honduras throughout 2026.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Mexico

Armed group kidnaps Carnaval tourists in Mazatlán (Sinaloa state) On 3 February, armed criminals kidnapped four men, one woman and a girl from the tourist area of Mazatlán during the celebrations for Carnaval, forcing them into two vehicles. The kidnappers released the woman and girl a short time later, but the fate of the male victims was not reported.

Scammers virtually kidnap a teenage dependant in Guadalajara (Jalisco state) Criminals on 22 January coerced a teenage girl over the phone into leaving her home and cutting contact with her family, simultaneously calling her parents to claim they had kidnapped her and to demand a large ransom for her release. Police responded to the incident and located the girl safe and alone, confirming the case was a virtual kidnap.

Control Risks comment

This incident highlights the deteriorating security environment in Sinaloa as the warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel, Los Mayos and Los Chapitos, seek to gain control of the state. This conflict has driven a spike in cases in the first two months of 2026, particularly in mass kidnaps, with 50% of all incidents registered in the state this year so far involving five or more victims. Such incidents will likely continue over the coming months as criminals seek to generate revenue and retaliate against companies and individuals they perceive to be cooperating with their rivals.

This event follows a steep rise in virtual kidnaps in Jalisco state in 2025, during which Control Risks registered a 520% increase, compared to the previous year as criminal groups become increasingly familiar with this tactic. Most cases took place in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, with 29% taking place in the Guadalajara municipality, 26% in Tlajomulco (Jalisco state) municipality and 23% in Zapopan (Jalisco state) municipality. The elevated number of virtual kidnaps is likely to persist over 2026, with incidents remaining concentrated in urban centres. Around 56% of virtual kidnapping victims in Jalisco in the past five years were underage dependants, a trend likely to persist as perpetrators increasingly use social media to profile minors from high-income families.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Paraguay

Suspected EPP militants kidnap son of Brazilian farmer in Yeruti (Caaguazú department) Suspected members of the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) kidnapped the 32-year-old son of a Brazilian soya farm owner, while he was cultivating grain on his family’s farm in Yeruti on 20 February. Police investigating the case discovered an EPP pamphlet and manuscript at the abduction site. The fate of the victim was not reported.

Control Risks comment

In the past five years, Control Risks has recorded sporadic kidnaps perpetrated by the EPP across their territorial strongholds in the Northeast of the country, including in the departments of San Pedro, Concepción and Caaguazú. In this period, the demands included financial ransoms from the victims’ families, prisoner releases from the government, and information from the victims themselves. The group will continue to disproportionately target agricultural business owners, including foreign nationals from Brazilian and Mennonite communities, both due to large perceived ransom potential and ideological opposition to these groups’ land ownership in the country.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Peru

Gunmen kidnap miners in Pataz (La Libertad department) and demand concessions from employer Armed criminals on 29 January kidnapped 29 miners at a mine pithead in the Nuevo Pueblo area of Pataz and demanded the employer grant them control of the mine. The Unified Command of Pataz, which includes Peruvian police and armed forces, responded to the incident and rescued the miners hours later.

Kidnappers kill victim after forcing ransom payment in Santa Rosa de Quezada (Huánuco department) Criminals kidnapped the 27-year-old owner of a butterfly export business from his home in Santa Rosa de Quezada, forcing him into a vehicle on 14 February. The criminals made the victim hand over a large ransom. However, as the victim struggled to escape, the kidnappers shot him. Upon realising the severity of his injury, the perpetrators fled. The victim died in the hospital from his injury later that day.

Control Risks comment

Mining remains the sector most impacted by kidnapping in Peru. In the past five years, approximately 27% of all kidnap victims in the country worked in the industry, a statistic driven by the mass kidnapping of mining employees. Isolating data from 2025, the proportion rises to 47%. This increase relates to the surging involvement of high-capacity OCGs in illegal mining activity, particularly in the departments of La Libertad, Huánuco, Áncash, Huancavelica and Arequipa. These trends will likely continue over the coming year as security forces struggle to contain the increasing capabilities of criminal groups involved in highly profitable illegal mining activity.

OCGs have become increasingly violent if businesses and individuals refuse to pay extortion demands in Peru. The proportion of fatal outcomes for kidnapping victims has increased sharply. In 2024, kidnappers killed 8% of victims, whereas this figure rose to 13% in 2025. This trend is likely to continue, as kidnapping serves not only as a revenue stream to these groups, but also as a way to deter others from refusing extortion demands.

The Global Advisor: Spotlight on Latin America | March 2026 Venezuela

Criminals use lure tactics to kidnap a victim in Cagua (Aragua state) Criminals kidnapped an unidentified victim after luring them to a house in Cagua with a fake online advertisement on 30 January. The kidnappers then subdued the victim and held him captive. Details of negotiations were not reported. Police rescued the victim from the residence later that day and arrested one of the perpetrators.

Control Risks comment

Kidnapping-for-ransom will remain a threat to commercial operations in and around major cities such as Caracas (Federal District), Maracay (Aragua state) and Maracaibo (Zulia state) across 2026. In the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s capture by US forces in January 2026, low-level criminals and organised armed groups will continue participating in extortive crimes with relative impunity, as mistrust in authorities and limited resources hamper investigations into perpetrator groups.

About Us The Hiscox Crisis Management division serves both corporate and private clients. Our exclusive partnership with Control Risks allows us to combine renowned insurance expertise with unparalleled security risk and crisis management capability to protect what matters most to our clients. We are the global leaders in this sector. Celebrating 30 years in partnership, Hiscox and Control Risks have helped policyholders manage thousands of crisis events, including complex security and integrity issues. Together, we combine our insurance expertise with Control Risks’ capabilities across security risk and crisis management, protecting what matters most to our clients.

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