The United States Consulate in Guadalajara alerted its citizens on Thursday about kidnapping through online appointment applications in recent months in Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Nayarit, in the state of Nayarit, popular tourist destinations on the Pacific coast.
In a brief statement, the Consulate said that, sometimes, victims and their relatives in the United States have been extorted by large sums of money to achieve their release.
However, the embassy did not detail the number of cases that have been identified or the name of the applications that criminals have used, although it specified that the cases are not limited to “a single area.”
Given the facts, the US authorities asked their citizens to have caution when meeting strangers, trying to meet only in public places and avoid isolated locations as residences or hotel rooms, “where crimes are more likely to occur.”
He also recalled that the Mexican state of Jalisco is classified as ‘Level 3: reconsider the trip’, due to crime and kidnapping; While Nayarit is classified as ‘Level 2: Exercise greater caution’, due to crime.
Among the measures to apply are to be cautious when using online appointment applications in Mexico, informing friends and family about their plans, details of the person who will know and name of the application, in addition to trusting “in their instincts”.
Finally, he asked that in the case of emergency a call to the emergency number 911.
“American citizens who need emergency consular services must contact the nearest embassy or consulate,” he emphasized.
The notice occurs after US media such as the ABC7/Kabc channel, NBC News and The Hill reported cases in which US citizens were kidnapped after having agreed appointments in applications.
With EFE information.
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