Extortion has become one of Mexico's fastest-growing crimes, with reported cases nearly doubling between 2016 and 2025 and the true scale believed to be far larger — only 0.2% of incidents are ever reported, largely due to fear of deadly reprisals. Criminal gangs demand monthly "protection fees" from everyone from wealthy business owners to street food vendors, while corrupt local police officers have also been implicated in shakedowns, sexual assault, and account-draining schemes targeting ordinary citizens. President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded with a national anti-extortion strategy that has led to over 1,300 arrests and a constitutional push to classify extortion as a federal crime, though advocates warn that deep ties between organised crime and local authorities make the problem exceptionally difficult to uproot.