:00:00. > :00:22.This is the call every family in Mexico dreads receiving. A kidnapper
:00:23. > :00:33.demanding a ransom. According to some experts, up to 20
:00:34. > :00:36.people are kidnapped here every single day.
:00:37. > :00:55.I'm Vladimir Hernandez and I'm going to meet the people struggling to put
:00:56. > :01:01.their lives back together after being captured. It's changed my
:01:02. > :01:05.life, I don't trust anyone, I'm always afraid. And in a rare
:01:06. > :01:12.interview, I come face to face with a man who claims he is a kidnapper.
:01:13. > :01:16.I never start fights, but if one happens, I make the most of it by
:01:17. > :01:21.stabbing you in your stomach or biting your face. I think it makes
:01:22. > :01:23.an impression. I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about death,
:01:24. > :01:46.torture, violence with such ease. As usual, I was taking my girls to
:01:47. > :01:51.school. I'm driving around the corner but I see a van right in
:01:52. > :01:57.front of me. It won't let me pass. When I look back I can see another
:01:58. > :02:02.van behind blocking my way. I turned around hoping to see my girls out of
:02:03. > :02:07.the car, but one was still trapped. My other daughter was almost run
:02:08. > :02:13.over. As I turned around, everything went black.
:02:14. > :02:23.Jose was kidnapped a year ago. During the ordeal he was shot in the
:02:24. > :02:27.back and hasn't walked since. I came back to my senses while I was being
:02:28. > :02:33.dragged across the pavement. They threw me inside like a sack of
:02:34. > :02:40.potatoes. I'm only hoping my girls are well They Start Asking For
:02:41. > :02:44.Money. One Of Them Says," $40 Million", I Reply, Where Do I Get
:02:45. > :02:52.That Kind Of Money? They Seem Shocked. One of them says, so, it's
:02:53. > :02:57.not you? He calls someone and says, bass, we screwed up, but they're
:02:58. > :03:02.told to take us anyway. Jose has never spoken publicly about his
:03:03. > :03:05.experience before. He's scared it could happen again so we've
:03:06. > :03:10.disguised his identity and aren't using his real name. They threw me
:03:11. > :03:16.into a disgusting bathroom and covered my eyes. I was handcuffed. I
:03:17. > :03:25.still have the scars. I thought they had taken my daughters for
:03:26. > :03:30.trafficking. Growing up in Latin America, I knew family members who
:03:31. > :03:34.were kidnapped. But here in Mexico, experiences like Jose's are now
:03:35. > :03:41.becoming a normal part of daily life. Very few countries have such a
:03:42. > :03:46.high kidnapped rate as Mexico. And it's a crime that is not only
:03:47. > :03:50.affecting the wealthy but anyone in this society walking down the
:03:51. > :03:56.streets, anyone can be a quick fix of cash for the kidnappers.
:03:57. > :04:02.According to the authorities, 1500 people were kidnapped in Mexico last
:04:03. > :04:06.year. But the national Institute of statistics estimates at least
:04:07. > :04:11.100,000 people are taken and only a tiny fraction of cases are reported
:04:12. > :04:16.to the police. When a kidnapper happens, many people don't trust the
:04:17. > :04:21.police to help. Instead they turn to the services of private negotiators
:04:22. > :04:59.like Max Mirallas. He has helped thousands of families.
:05:00. > :05:19.He tells me the police hadn't done enough.
:05:20. > :05:23.Someone may ask, though, what's the benefit of kidnapping someone who's
:05:24. > :06:02.extremely poor? Kidnapping doesn't just affect
:06:03. > :06:07.people in the big cities. Another victim, we'll call him Roberto, was
:06:08. > :06:13.working as a blacksmith fixing iron barred to a window in rural Mexico
:06:14. > :06:17.when he was taking. I got out my tape measure and started measuring
:06:18. > :06:24.the Windows. At that moment the other people arrived. There was a
:06:25. > :06:31.boy, about 14, I could see from his height he was quite young. He was
:06:32. > :06:36.just a kid. Another young guy, he had a pistol, a gun, and he pointed
:06:37. > :06:42.it at me. They were yelling, they threw me to the ground, they kicked
:06:43. > :06:49.me in the face and the Reds. I just thought it was a robbery. -- ribs. I
:06:50. > :06:53.never thought everything that was going to happen would happen. While
:06:54. > :06:57.he was being held the kidnappers went to his house and took his wife
:06:58. > :07:01.and two children. The kidnappers then let him go and demanded an
:07:02. > :07:03.impossibly high ransom for his family. They were eventually freed
:07:04. > :07:13.with the help of the police. The authorities are keen to
:07:14. > :07:20.publicise the success of raids like this across the country.
:07:21. > :07:24.These police videos show ordinary men, women and even children who
:07:25. > :07:38.have been rescued from kidnappers. In Mexico state, the police are
:07:39. > :07:46.preparing for an armed raid. Today, this is only a training
:07:47. > :08:21.exercise. Did you get a big reward when you do
:08:22. > :08:56.these operations? This time police film themselves in
:08:57. > :09:01.action on a real raid. While it might look dramatic, this is just a
:09:02. > :09:05.small part of their role. They work with families behind closed doors to
:09:06. > :09:12.try to persuade the kidnappers to release their captives. When Jose
:09:13. > :09:18.was kidnapped, his wife, Maria, not her real name, contacted the
:09:19. > :09:22.police. A negotiating team moved into her house to help her talk to
:09:23. > :09:26.her kidnappers. TRANSLATION: They told me I had to be calm. They said
:09:27. > :09:30.they're going to ask if you're with the police but on no account must
:09:31. > :09:37.they know there's someone supporting you. The phone was ringing in
:09:38. > :09:43.another room. As soon as I heard it I rushed to answer, but I couldn't
:09:44. > :09:47.get there in time, I was very anxious, breeding rapidly. The
:09:48. > :09:50.negotiator said, don't worry, they'll call again, try to keep calm
:09:51. > :09:55.because the karma you are the more you will notice when you speak to
:09:56. > :09:59.them again and the situation will turn in your favour. You will have
:10:00. > :10:03.control. The phone rings again, this time I answer. The kidnappers start
:10:04. > :10:07.speaking but I can't take it any more, I don't even listen to what
:10:08. > :10:11.they're saying. I hold the phone away and take a deep breath and I
:10:12. > :10:15.said, I want to know where my husband is and I want to speak to
:10:16. > :10:19.him. If I don't speak to him then I won't listen to you any more. He
:10:20. > :10:24.says the quiet, the quiet, we'll put him on the line in a minute but make
:10:25. > :10:30.sure you answer. He hangs up on me. The phone rings again. This time I
:10:31. > :10:34.answer. The quiet, the kidnapper says, I'm going to put your husband
:10:35. > :10:39.on the line, listen well. He puts someone on the phone who is supposed
:10:40. > :10:44.to be my husband. I can't recognise him, I can hardly hear him. I can't
:10:45. > :10:47.understand what he's saying, I then lose it. I only remember shouting
:10:48. > :10:53.down the phone, I don't understand, I don't know who it is, I can't hear
:10:54. > :10:57.what he's saying. Someone tries to talk to me on the phone but I just
:10:58. > :11:01.carry on until I tell them, I only want to hear from my husband and
:11:02. > :11:05.nothing else. I slammed the phone down. I turned to the negotiators
:11:06. > :11:18.and say, what have I done? What would drive a man to shoot
:11:19. > :11:26.someone as they're taking their kids to school? To find out I'm trying to
:11:27. > :11:27.arrange to meet a kidnapper. But it's almost impossible to get anyone
:11:28. > :11:39.to talk openly. To try and understand how kidnappers
:11:40. > :11:43.think, I arranged to meet a police negotiator. He agrees to play me
:11:44. > :11:49.recordings of a kidnapper made during a recent case. What sort of
:11:50. > :11:54.things are they saying? Because he deals with kidnappers all the time,
:11:55. > :11:58.he asks us to hide his identity. It's difficult to listen to the
:11:59. > :11:59.calls, their abusive, as the kidnapper tries to scare and
:12:00. > :12:26.intimidate the family. Have you heard from this criminal
:12:27. > :12:47.gang before? Are they familiar to you?
:12:48. > :12:53.The man who was kidnapped is a bus driver. And when kidnappers are
:12:54. > :14:05.ready to make a deal, their tone changes.
:14:06. > :14:14.The negotiators team eventually managed to free the bus driver, but
:14:15. > :14:25.I can hear how scared the family are during the ordeal. And after many
:14:26. > :14:29.calls and dead ends, I finally arranged to meet a man who claims he
:14:30. > :14:34.is a kidnapper. It is a risky operation. He won't reveal his
:14:35. > :14:40.identity, and we have to meet in a secret location. It is hard not to
:14:41. > :14:45.feel uneasy about the prospect. We've been very careful ahead of
:14:46. > :14:48.this meeting. Still, there is a sense of eeriness and expectation
:14:49. > :14:56.about meeting someone who kidnaps people for a living. When I finally
:14:57. > :15:01.do meet him I am surprised to find he doesn't look much older than a
:15:02. > :15:06.teenager. There are lots of different ways of kidnapping
:15:07. > :15:12.someone. Generally, I stare at the victim, let them see my eyes. They
:15:13. > :15:17.start crying, and I said, calm down, bro, we will do this the civilised
:15:18. > :15:23.way. I don't want to traumatise you. I am interested in the money, that's
:15:24. > :15:27.all. So, just co-operate, you know? Stay cool and speak nicely to the
:15:28. > :15:37.boss. If you can do that this will all go nicely. But if not, sorry,
:15:38. > :15:40.well, I am going to (BLLE) you are up -- (BLEEP). You don't have to go
:15:41. > :15:45.for the victim, you can go for his girlfriend and say, you have such a
:15:46. > :15:50.pretty face. You can put underwater, show it to her and say, now, tell me
:15:51. > :15:53.whether (BLEEP) is Ore will pour it on you, and because of the
:15:54. > :15:58.girlfriend is pretty, she will grass him up. It works with the wives too.
:15:59. > :16:04.Do you ever think about the relatives of the victim of the
:16:05. > :16:09.people you have kidnapped? Yes. For sure. Of course -- pour. We are
:16:10. > :16:12.still human. But it is very rarely do something to someone who doesn't
:16:13. > :16:20.deserve it. I don't start fights, but if one happens, I make the most
:16:21. > :16:27.of it. Something normal, like, I stab you in the stomach, or if I am
:16:28. > :16:32.trying to impress, I will bite your face or just remove something from
:16:33. > :16:36.you, maybe cut your throat with a knife and then I mess with the
:16:37. > :16:44.windpipe a little bit. I think it makes an impression.
:16:45. > :16:51.With drugs, you have clients, and it is continuous, but kidnapping is the
:16:52. > :17:04.fastest weight. You can make anything up to $2 million, so it is
:17:05. > :17:08.hard to give up -- way. No, no, I don't have any regrets about the
:17:09. > :17:15.people I have killed. But the truth is, I have already (BLEEP) my life,
:17:16. > :17:17.so it doesn't really matter. I can't verify what he said, but I am shaken
:17:18. > :17:38.by meeting him. I don't think I've ever heard anyone
:17:39. > :17:49.talk about death, torture, violence, with such ease, with such
:17:50. > :17:52.coldness to themselves. It is frightening because he was just like
:17:53. > :18:00.an ordinary young man talking about horrible things, no remorse, no
:18:01. > :18:13.regrets, knowing he was going to die soon, probably. It was just
:18:14. > :18:16.frightening, really. Official police statistics show the number of
:18:17. > :18:22.kidnappings have fallen since last year. But with jobs hard to come
:18:23. > :18:28.by, many feel they have no option but to turn to organised crime. And,
:18:29. > :18:33.having spoken to the kidnapper, I can't see how things are going to
:18:34. > :18:37.change. So, I've come to meet the head of the state of Mexico's anti-
:18:38. > :18:39.kidnapping department in the hope of getting some answers. Do you feel
:18:40. > :19:23.you are winning this battle? Like the state authorities, the
:19:24. > :19:30.police say they are winning this battle. And dozens of families are
:19:31. > :19:44.reunited with their loved ones every month. When Jose was taken, his two
:19:45. > :19:49.daughters were able to escape, but he was held for a week before he
:19:50. > :19:55.finally saw his wife, Maria, again. There was a big manhunt under way in
:19:56. > :19:59.the state where we lived. There were helicopters flying above us all the
:20:00. > :20:03.time. The night before, they brought a doctor in. I could hardly speak by
:20:04. > :20:08.then. They asked the doctor how long I had to live. Two days, he said.
:20:09. > :20:13.That must have been when they decided to dump me. That night, the
:20:14. > :20:20.phone rings, but it is the police. Has anyone called you, I am asked. I
:20:21. > :20:23.said no, but the tone of the questions that are different to me.
:20:24. > :20:29.Ten minutes later the phone rings again. All I hear is, your husband
:20:30. > :20:33.has been found. They put me in a car and drove me for a short while. Then
:20:34. > :20:37.they threw me out onto a patch of waste ground. After they left, I
:20:38. > :20:42.started shouting, because I could see lots of lights around me but I
:20:43. > :20:45.couldn't move. I had to wait for the police to pick me up to take me to
:20:46. > :20:52.wear Jose was. My brothers were with me. -- where. Eventually, I saw a
:20:53. > :20:59.man and a small boy working nearby. It was a child who saw me. They lend
:21:00. > :21:02.me their phone and I could call the emergency services -- walking. The
:21:03. > :21:06.police came first and then an ambulance. I was fighting for my
:21:07. > :21:13.life. I finally get there and he is in bad shape, but he is back. I was
:21:14. > :21:27.just happy to have been released. I wanted to live.
:21:28. > :21:36.But the scars from kidnapping take a long time to heal. Jose is still not
:21:37. > :21:41.able to walk. And it seems that unless there are drastic changes
:21:42. > :21:45.here, there experiences will keep on being repeated right across the
:21:46. > :21:50.country -- there. There are people who don't even think, they just act.
:21:51. > :21:57.I don't think they realise the harm they cause. Roberto, the blacksmith,
:21:58. > :22:04.has been traumatised by the attack. He still doesn't know why he was
:22:05. > :22:11.targeted. It has changed my life. I don't trust anyone. My wife hardly
:22:12. > :22:21.leaves the house any more. I am always afraid. Do you think you will
:22:22. > :22:26.ever stop being afraid? Not while there are crimes like this. I don't
:22:27. > :22:31.know why we have this level of crime, whether it is to do with the
:22:32. > :22:39.economy or a lack of work, I don't know. What makes me sad is that one
:22:40. > :22:48.of them was just a child. He could have been a school, preparing to be
:22:49. > :22:53.a good person, an educated person. Why would he do this?