Kidnap inc.
The kidnapping of business executives is a growth industry in Latin America, thanks to increased opportunity, weak law enforcement and the continued disparity between poverty and wealth. For Samuel Doria Medina, it was the worst experience of his 37-year life: 45 days in captivity outside of Bolivia's capital La Paz. Medina, a wealthy cement producer, former planning minister and owner of Bolivian newspaper Hoy, found inspiration in remembering a quote from The Bible he read in Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits: "Try to survive because in the end, we will all be dead." "I'm probably 10 kilos lighter, 10 years more experienced and 25 times more inspired to work for my people, my country," the unshaven businessman told reporters after his release last December. Although he declined to confirm that he had paid a ransom, local media and businessmen reported that the kidnappers were paid about US$3 million. Shortly after his release, Bolivian authorities arrested at least six people in connection with the abduction, including several members of the Peruvian leftist guerrilla movement MRTA.Although the kidnapping was unusual by Bolivian standards, Medina is in no way alone. Latin America last year saw at least 6,000 kidnapping
"Clearly, the announcement by Harp's family on TV that they had paid $30 million had an inspirational effect [on other kidnappers]," says Jenkins. Kidnap Insurance:Nearly all top-level foreign executives in Latin America are covered by kidnapping and ransom insurance, but less than half of the local managers of multinationals and similarly nationally prominent local businessmen have coverage, Jenkins estimates. Insured victims benefit from professional crisis management, whereas relatives of the uninsured are more likely to commit fatal errors. Outlook:Experts expect kidnappings will continue to increase as Latin America sees further economic growth and increased foreign investment, particularly while law enforcement simultaneously remains inefficient. In June, two missionaries of Florida-based New Tribes Mission abducted by FARC in January 1994 were found dead. "The situation has gotten worse," says Jenkins. In two cases where Kroll believes to have been dealing with the same kidnappers, the ransom asked rose as the Harp kidnapping unfolded, Jenkins says. The company offers a wide range of advice and training on how to deal with and prepare for kidnappings, including an extensive security program and several online, updated information sources, which includes kidnapping risk information for various countries. "Kidnapping's definitely a major concern for multinationals," says Kenneth Stephens, kidnapping and ransom product manager of Chubb & Son. Among small businessmen and rural ranchers, coverage is rare, he says. Giovanni Cesama Vitaly, an Italian executive kidnapped by FARC, was released in February 1994 after five months' captivity. Late last year, American Sheryl Gomez and her two children were kidnapped in front of the children's school in Guatemala City. "The multinationals are manna from heaven. Security Firms:The insurance companies hire security consultants to help with kidnapping and ransom cases. In Ecuador, some 200 kidnappings a year have placed it second to Colombia as the Latin American country with the most kidnappings per capita.
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