Mexican criminal organizations like the Zetas and Gulf Cartel may be charging mines up to $37,000 a month in "security" fees, a practice more commonly seen in Colombia.
Guatemala prison inmates have been accused of making threatening phone calls to large hotel chains in neighboring El Salvador, pointing to the growing popularity of long-distance extortion schemes.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) will help train a task force in El Salvador dedicated to investigating extortion-related crimes, with nearly 3,000 extortion cases reported in 2011.
Honduras' security forces have begun an operation to increase security for bus and taxi drivers who are targeted for extortion by urban gangs -- a problem that affects countries across the region.
Two Lima gangs have reignited their struggle for control of the city's extortion rackets, according to Peruvian media, prompting fears of a rise in violence in the country's capital.
As Mexico's security situation has deteriorated, small-time criminals have attempted to take advantage of the chaos by claiming to be members of the most feared gangs and carrying out "virtual kidnappings" over the phone and Internet.
By 2040 Mexico can expect to see a decimated drug export industry but a flourishing domestic drug market, while the rise in electronic money and decline in cash will hit the kidnapping business, predicts Alejandro Hope.
While larger businesses can escape unscathed, small businesses in Mexico often have no other option in the extortion economy but to pay up, or get involved in criminal activities themselves. Those who don’t pay risk their lives, and those who do risk bankruptcy.
Ex-police in two of the most troubled Colombian provinces have allegedly moved up the criminal ladder, shifting from tacitly supporting criminal groups to becoming players in the underworld in their own right.
Proceso magazine reports that its latest edition, which features a cover article on the “sinister history” of a casino magnate and his ties to officials, has been bought in bulk from newsstands in cities across Mexico, presumably to prevent its circulation.
