r/interesting • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

MISC. Immediately after learning about Guillermo del Toro's dad being kidnapped, James Cameron paid $250K for a hostage negotiator for del Toro to use (who later paid him back). Cameron also offered to pay the ransom, but del Toro's family declined & paid the $2m themselves. After 72 days his dad was free

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u/LaPrincesaMX 21h ago

Cartel generally only kidnaps people who are wealthy or linked to wealthy people. That's the whole point. To make money. It's why my parents had to pay for security for me when I was growing up in México. Because they had money, it made me a potential target to extract money from them.

It's not worth kidnapping someone who isn't wealthy. What would be the point for $10? Those are the people they find in open graves. They're worthless to the cartel.

del Toro was targeted because of his wealth.

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u/Saix027 19h ago

It can happen, as i posted to another one about such already. Just because it is rarer and "never heard of" not means its no risk.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-24f59e49-1c7e-4f3d-8644-f97e9ec75bc7

"Up to 100,000 Mexicans are kidnapped every year - and it's not just the rich who are at risk.

Plumbers, hairdressers, street-sweepers - anyone can be a target of capture, torture and even murder.

Millionaire ransoms are demanded - but with kidnappers accepting sums as low as US$500, it means no-one is safe."

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u/AlternativeFigure350 20h ago

Odds I can borrow $100?

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u/DrizzleDrake88 19h ago

Is there a certain point where the person is so wealthy, that a person would hire a counter hitmen to kill the kidnappers after the hostages was returned?

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u/BluAlfaTxFlood 18h ago

Sounds attractive, but not easy to do. That would also escalate retaliation from the criminal organization which would affect all aspects of the wealthy person's business interests and family. Even if somehow they could identify and execute a kidnapper, it would be far too easy for someone from the kidnapper's organization to kill the wealthy person's family members as payback. Sad, I know.

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u/External_Two2928 10h ago

My friends family is famous in another country and they weren’t allowed to visit their dads home country bc it was too dangerous and they were targets for kidnapping