Express Kidnapping ****

At the risk of emulating GIB, I happened upon the movie “Sequestro Express�? last night. The movie depicts a late-night kidnapping of a couple in Caracas. The film is shot in a fast-paced, realistic psuedo-documentary style and follows the couple as they are taken round to ATM’s and as ransom is demanded from their family.

Apparently these “blitzkrieg�? kidnappings for only a few hours are becoming more common; and while not explicitly about Colombia, the movie does an excellent job of portraying what some consider the fastest growing crime in Latin America.

The film neither dismisses nor glorifies the kidnappers or their crime, but raises questions about societies where so few wealthy live among so many poor.

I’ve often thought what a great way to access money an ATM is, I guess I’m not the only one... Tenga Cuidado.

(As their are other movies with the same title, this is the 2005 release with Mia Maestro and Ruben Blades)

By Albatross on May 8, 2006, 04:38 in Friendly Talkzone.

johna says on May 8, 2006, 07:21:

I saw this one too The cops were more scary than the bad guys.

oldbongo says on May 8, 2006, 08:32:

hey albatross... rickys' method is to wrap a chain around the atm,
hook it to the back of his pick-up,
and just haul that baby thru the door,
and down the road.

adrimm says on May 8, 2006, 09:39:

This has been happening in Bolivia too, and with tourism on the rise there, they are increasingly targeting visitors, even "poor" ones. It turned nasty for a couple of Austrian backpackers:
http://www.katharinaandpeter.info

They are trying to run a campaign out to get banks to give people an option to limit how much money can be withdrawn on cards.

It sucks, and if tourism rises in Colombia then I fear the same thing will happen.

landcruiser77 says on May 8, 2006, 11:54:

nothing new The Devil

|___/|
/ I am the secuestrador
| /__/|
|| You will succumb.
| _ )
/----
| -/
/

£æ

thur says on May 8, 2006, 15:03:

This... This type of kidnapping do happen, they're called "paseo millonario" and actually aren't counted in the kidnapping statistics. I've heard they've become popular aswell in Argentina lately because of the economic downturn.
Greetings,

~Sights & Sounds~
www.pbase.com/thur

- www.pbase.com/thur

juanalejo says on May 8, 2006, 19:55:

Paseo Millonario and Express Kidnapping are two different stories. In Paseo Millonario they hold you until they empty your bank accounts and let you go. In Express Kidnappings they actually hold you until your family pays a set ammount that the kidnappers believe your family can come up in short notice. Paseos Millonarios are very common all over Latin America, Secuestros Millonarios are not common in Colombia, but very common in Venezuela.