MEXICO. - According to a report by the National Monitoring Council in Mexico, in the first four months of 2013, there has been an increase of 16.9% in kidnapping cases.

The Mexican states that recorded the highest number of kidnappings are Hidalgo (11.21%), Michoacan (10.49%) and Tamaulipas (10.49%).

In its periodic report of crimes with high impact, this NGO said that in the first quarter of 2013 there were 553 complaints of kidnapping, which would come out to about five cases of missing person who were taken against their will daily.

The organization, which seeks to improve the security, justice and legality in Mexico, said that kidnapping "is one of the high-impact crimes that most affect victims from a sociological perspective, psychological and legal".

The report did recalled that around 2012 there were 1,307 kidnappings nationwide, representing a decrease of 2.8% compared to the cases reported in the previous year.

These figures were obtained by adding the cases of each state and, therefore, do not include the kidnappings that go unreported to police. Another NGO, the Council for Law and Human Rights (CLDH) estimates that only one in ten kidnappings is reported in Mexico.