Global Guardian and its on-the-ground teams in over 140 countries are committed to safeguarding employees and their families from political, environmental, and bad actor threats across the globe. In some instances, Global Guardian’s expertise and experience can help clients navigate threats that aren’t what they appear to be.
LOCATION: Mexico
SERVICES: Kidnap, Ransom & Extortion
CLIENT INDUSTRY: Construction
Global Guardian’s 24/7 Operations Center received a call from a corporate duty of care client about the suspected kidnapping of two of their employees working in Mexico.
The client had received a distressing call from one of the employees, saying that they and their colleague had been kidnapped by someone claiming to be a member of the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Immediately after, the client received another call from someone claiming that they had kidnapped the employees. The caller demanded a ransom and sent photos of the couple in distress to confirm their capture.
Upon receiving the information from the client, Global Guardian immediately went into action.
Global Guardian assessed the details of the situation and identified it as a virtual kidnapping rather than a traditional kidnapping situation.
Our team determined that a criminal gang — not likely to be the CJNG — had employed well-known extortion strategies to convince the victims that they and their families were in imminent danger. The criminals’ methods manipulated the victims to call their employer and families to provide large amounts of cash for their safe release.
Global Guardian instructed the client to cease direct communication with the unknown caller. Working with our on-the-ground teams and KR&E experts, we attempted to contact the two victims directly and determine their last known location, while alerting the local authorities of the situation. Simultaneously, we reached out to the family members of the victims to ensure they were aware of the circumstances.
In search of the victims, we visited the couple’s hotel room with local authorities. Although they were not found there, their belongings were still present. Working with hotel staff, it was determined that the victims had left the hotel previously in the day.
After our team made frequent attempts at contacting the victims, one of the employees was able to respond and provide details of their location at another hotel in the area. After updating the authorities, we arrived at the hotel and located the two employees, who were in distress but unharmed.
OutcomeLeveraging its 24/7 operators, KR&E experts, and on-the-ground teams, Global Guardian successfully navigated the complex and dynamic situation and brought the two employees to safety within 12 hours. Post-rescue, Global Guardian debriefed the client and their employees, confirming that this was a random attack with no ongoing threat to them or their employer. It was unlikely that the perpetrators were associated with the cartel. The team went on to provide the employees with preventive measures, including changing their phone numbers. We also recommended they seek counseling to deal with the stress following the incident, connecting them with a local provider to do so. While the location of this incident in Mexico is generally considered a safe city, this case underscores the necessity for robust crisis management protocols in safeguarding employees and mitigating the impact of such incidents, and leveraging the resources of a provider like Global Guardian with on-the-ground teams who know the local culture, language, terrain, and security risks. |
A severe incident involving the possibility of kidnapping, ransom, and extortion requires comprehensive crisis management measures to ensure the safety of the employees involved, address the potential threats effectively, manage communication and coordination with local authorities, and ensure rapid response capabilities.
Global Guardian protects and delivers employees and families from political, environmental, and bad actor threats around the world. Our team of experienced subject matter experts build tailored security programs to mitigate risk and provide real outcomes to a range of threats at home and abroad — all at the push of a button. Clients benefit from:
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