Overview
- Lawmakers amended Article 266 of the Penal Code to define intentionally staged traffic collisions for illicit gain as a form of extortion.
- The offense is punishable by 12 to 24 years in prison and a 1,500‑day fine, which double when the victim is an older adult, a person with disabilities, a woman or otherwise vulnerable.
- The full congress approved the reform unanimously after shifting an initial proposal that framed the conduct as fraud to one that treats it as extortion.
- Deputy Octavio Martínez Vargas led the push, citing organized crews in Ecatepec and reporting roughly 15 such extortions per day there with typical demands near 10,000 pesos.
- With this change, the State of Mexico becomes the third jurisdiction to codify the practice after Mexico City and Morelos.