[38], By 2018, Venezuela's murder ratedescribed as the highest in the worldhad begun to decrease according to the OVV, with the organization stating that this downward trend was due to the millions of Venezuelans that emigrated from the country at the time. Violent crime is rife in both the capital Caracas and the interior, and as a foreigner you are a prime target. . [45][46] He further explained that criminals felt that the Venezuelan government did not care for the problems of the higher classes, which in turn gave them a sense of impunity that created a large business of kidnapping. [45] Both the rich and poor are victims of kidnapping and criminals even fear being kidnapped by more powerful gangs. [5] In the 1960s following the restoration of democracy, insecurity rose when FALN leftist guerrillas participated in violent confrontations with the government, though such clashes subsided due to lack of public support for the guerrilla movement. When you have a functioning democracy and you have the opposition and the government in power, there's different solutions to problems; people debate, people discuss. Rates of crime rapidly began to increase during the presidency of Hugo Chvez due to the institutional instability of his Bolivarian government, underfunding of police resources, and severe inequality. It is estimated that Venezuela's population will reach its peak of 35.57 million by 2063. [89], Colectivos sometimes provide protection from crime in some neighborhoods they are committed to,[90] though some neighborhoods report that colectivos attack neighbors themselves. Corrupt Venezuelan police officers may be involved in some 20 percent of the "deaths from resisting authority" that the government tries to keep out of the official tally. According to the VVO, a rate of 122 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in . [127] In a Cabo Vadillo (es) episode revealing crime in Caracas, it is stated that at the time of recording in 2014, there were over 5 million illegal firearms in a city of about 5 million people. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported. LockA locked padlock Maracaibo has a crime index of 83.25 and a safety index of 16.75, which is still lower than Caracas and many other big cities - but it might be a bit higher than you're willing to face. [92] According to the International Crisis Group, colectivos may be involved in drug trafficking, arms dealing, and car theft. Accessed March 04, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/984669/homicide-rate-venezuela/, InSight Crime. [1], While Venezuelans were suffering from shortages in Venezuela, the occasional looting of trucks full of goods became more common in the country with the robberies being committed by criminal gangs. Areas of Caracas suffer from extreme poverty which provides gangs and criminal elements with an environment that is conducive to crime. 4 January. By the end of last year, prices were doubling . By one estimate the country has the highest per-capita murder rate in the world. An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice. ", "Armed civilian bands in Venezuela prop up unpopular president", "Political Divisions Fuel Venezuela's Most Violent Year", "US pulls all staff from Venezuela as Maduro blames blackout on 'demonic' Trump plot", "Venezuela: Maduro calls on armed groups to keep order amid electricity rationing", "Venezuela's Maduro announces power rationing amid outages", "The World Is Getting More Corrupt, and These Are the 5 Worst Offenders", "Pro-Government Motorcycle Militias Terrorize Venezuela", "Venezuela: Police corruption blamed for kidnapping epidemic", "How videos of supermarket raids show what life is like in Venezuela", "Venezuelan city under effective curfew after mass looting", "Venezuelan soap star Monica Spear, ex-husband murdered", "German tourist, 76, shot dead on Venezuelan island", "La reforma policial en Venezuela, tarea inconclusa del chavismo", "Crmenes brutales en Venezuela: Ejecuciones extrajudiciales dejan ms de ocho mil muertos", "Hoy comienza el Plan Patria Segura: "La Fanb sale a la calle a proteger el pueblo" (+video)", "Colectivos le dicen NO al plan de desarme del gobierno bolivariano", "Former Miss Venezuela Murdered In Roadside Attack", "Diciembre fue el mes ms violento del 2014, 500 muertos solo en Caracas", "Denuncian aumento de homicidios en Zulia durante 2014", "Presin de colectivos incidi en salida de Rodrguez Torres", "Relanzado Plan Patria Segura este sbado en todo el territorio nacional (+Fotos)", "Caracas: Cabo Vadillo Temporada 1; Programa 2", "Corruption by Country / Territory: Venezuela", "La situacin de las crceles venezolanas es una tragedia, dice la ONU", "Violence eases at overcrowded Venezuelan jail", "OVP: Venezuela minti en Examen Peridico Universal de Derechos Humanos", http://prisonstudies.org/country/united-states-america, "De verdad, Iris Varela? As of 2022, the US Department of State recommends that Americans avoid traveling to Venezuela especially due to its high rate of violent crime such as homicide. There have been several high profile kidnappings that have resulted in murder, including the killings of three minor Canadian brothers, a wealthy Italo-Venezuelan businessman, and the daughter of a senior Venezuelan military commander. [22], Venezuela is especially dangerous toward foreign travelers and investors who are visiting. [27], In 2010, The New York Times stated that according to news reports, data from human rights groups, such as the OVV's statistics, may actually be undercounting the number of those murdered in Venezuela. The poverty rate in Venezuela is 82 percent, and the unemployment rate is 18 percent. Challenging infrastructure problems and prolific corruption within law enforcement and the judicial system, continue to be important factors with regard to crime response and prevention. [5] The Bolivarian government then believed that violence and crime were due to poverty and inequality, though while the government boasted about reducing both poverty and inequality, the murder rate continued to increase in Venezuela. [142], In Venezuelan prisons, inmates partake in gladiatorial matches to settle disputes. Crippling poverty exists in this South American nation on a . [13][14], In spite of significant socioeconomic problems, the murder rate in Venezuela decreased between 2017 and 2020. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in murders per 100,000 people, the country is surpassed only by Cte d'Ivoire, El Salvador, and Honduras. Most kidnappings occur around "peace zones" where official police withdrew and gangs took over;[51] according to NBC News, "experts say the government has armed these groups [who] control large territories, financed through extortion and the drug trade". Gunson reported that colectivos combat criminal gangs in neighborhoods and take over the previous gang's business in crime and also take over buildings already owned by individuals and collect rent from the owners. Are you interested in testing our business solutions? Many unaffiliated criminals are also increasingly involved in kidnappings, either dealing with victim's families directly or selling the victim to terrorist groups. The police force is organized according to a quasi-military hierarchy and includes urban police agencies, the National Guard, state police, and municipal and provincial police forces. [93] FOX News says that, "Much of the crime has been attributed by analysts to government-backed gangsreferred to in Spanish as colectivoswho were deliberately put in place by the government", and that "while Venezuelan citizens were stripped of their legal recourse to bear arms, the 'collectivos'established by Chavez when came to powerwere legally locked and loaded," critics say. A nongovernmental group that tracks crime in Venezuela says the homicide rate climbed in 2015, putting the country on track to be one of the most violent in the world. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is . Crime in Venezuela. The country has one of the top five highest per capita murder rates in the world. [58], In 2008, the U.S. Department of Treasury accused two senior Venezuelan government officials and one former official of providing material assistance for drug-trafficking operations carried out by the FARC guerrilla group in Colombia. [32][33], The OVV puts the homicide rate for 2013 at approximately 79 per 100,000[27] and the murder rate in the capital Caracas at 122 per 100,000 residents. Venezuela Honduras Afghanistan Mexico The top 5 most dangerous states are: 01 Distrito Capital 02 Miranda Ciudad Jurez 03 Zulia 04 Carabobo San Pedro Kandahar 05 Aragua Sula Caracas Caracas (*) located in the "Distrito Capital" has the 2nd greatest murder rate of any large city in . [80] Despite the Venezuelan government's statements saying that only official authorities can carry weapons for the defense of Venezuela, colectivos are armed with automatic rifles such as AK-47s, submachine guns, fragmentation grenades, and tear gas. Victims do not have a role in sentencing unless they initiate the prosecution. Learn more about how Statista can support your business. But even as crime climbs, the number of police battling criminals is falling. In 2014, the United Nations attributed crime to the poor political and economic environment in the countrywhich, at the time, had the second highest murder rate in the world. Cross-border violence, kidnapping, drug trafficking, smuggling, and cattle-rustling occur frequently in areas along the 1,000-mile long border between Venezuela and Colombia. [51] At least 80% of kidnappings occur in a limited area around Caracas and including Miranda State. Level of crime: 22.96: Low: Crime increasing in the past 3 years: 20.71: Low: Worries home broken and things stolen: . in 15 years of Chvista rule, there have been 13 . From 1917, "greater awareness of the country's oil potential had the pernicious effect of increasing the corruption and intrigue amongst Gomez's family and entourage, the consequences of which would be felt up to 1935 B. S. McBeth (2002). But drug interdiction efforts and law enforcement pressure . Venezuela - Crime. Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) 1959 . Police support, both from the national and municipal levels, varies. [50] According to Anthony Daqun, former adviser to the Minister of Interior and Justice of Venezuela, "[s]taff of the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence and SEBIN (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service) operate these bands kidnapping and extortion". The practical effect of the penal code reform was to make police officers more hesitant to make arrests. [26], Venezuela is currently among the countries with the highest murder rates in the world. The majority of violent crimes in Venezuela take place in impoverished areas. #ga-ad {display: none;}
We have provided a few examples below that you can copy and paste to your site: Your image export is now complete. Phil Gunson, a freelance reporter for foreign media, states that, "It's no secret that many colectivos engage in criminal activities." 10 Facts about Violence in Venezuela. Violence and insecurity have plagued Venezuela for years, so much so that the government stopped publishing crime statistics in 2005 in an effort to stem criticism from the opposition. In a report . An overview of the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, which has one of the highest crime rates, July 29, 2015. This unindustrialized nation is steeped in natural beauty and just waiting to be discovered, but this doesn't mean you can go wandering alone in the Amazon. [5] Following the "institutional crisis" surrounding the Venezuelan government and the socioeconomic issues shown during the Caracazo riots in 1989 and Hugo Chvez's 1992 coup attempts, homicides increased in Venezuela. Armed robbery, mugging, carjacking, and burglary are . Jumping to the year 2014, the rate was 166, and as of 2016 the rate was at 173 [135], In 2018, Minister of Prison Service Iris Varela stated that when "[c]omparing the Venezuelan prison system with other penitentiary systems in the world, I can guarantee that this is the best in the world, because there have been no incidents", ignoring at least the April 2018 fire that occurred in the police station jails in Valencia, Carabobo where 68 people died per official figures. In 2020, the capital city Caracas ranked third in the ranking of most violent Venezuelan metropolises, with a . Their 5-year-old daughter, Maya, suffered a bullet wound to the leg but survived. [SOURCE] In early 2006 the murder rate in Baghdad appeared to be about 200 per 100,000 [SOURCE]. [37] OVV data has 23,047 homicides committed in Venezuela in 2018, a rate of 81.4 per 100,000 people, with the decline being attributed to emigration. [46] Since the local police are not trusted by Venezuelans, kidnappings are usually not reported and cannot be combated by the authorities. [63] On 15 February 2014, a commander for the Guard was stopped while driving to Valencia with his family and was arrested for having 554 kilos of cocaine in his possession. [65], Two nephews of Maduro's wife Cilia Flores, Efran Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, were involved in the narcosobrinos incident and found guilty for their alleged involvement in illicit activities such as drug trafficking in November 2016, with some of their funds possibly assisting President Maduro's presidential campaign in the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election and potentially for the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary elections, with the funds mainly used to "help their family stay in power". The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Show sources information [57], Independent analyses of the documents by a number of U.S. academics and journalists have challenged the Colombian interpretation of the documents, accusing the Colombian government of exaggerating their contents. [22], Escalating violent crime, especially murder, had been called "perhaps the biggest concern" of Venezuelans during the nationwide crisis. [5] Chvez's government sought a cultural hegemony by promoting class conflict and social fragmentation, which in turn encouraged "criminal gangs to kill, kidnap, rob and extort". [25] The New Yorker reporter found that even stairwells in a public hospital were not safe from robbers, who preyed on staff and patients despite the large number of security forces guarding the hospital, saying this was because the police were assigned to contain journalists who might embarrass the government with exposs on the state of the hospital; they were not assigned to protect its occupants. [56] According to Interpol, the files found by Colombian forces were considered to be authentic. InSight Crime. Murder rate : Homicide rate per year per 100,000 inhabitants in various countries. 18 December 2020. Geography - note. 10. [52], El Pas reported in 2014 that Chvez had years earlier assigned colectivos to be "the armed wing of the Bolivarian Revolution" for the Venezuelan government, giving them weapons, communication systems, motorcycles and surveillance equipment to exercise control in the hills of Caracas where police are forbidden entry. Statistics show Venezuela crime rate is at least eight times the U.S. rate; . These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. [63] Venezuelan officials have also been allegedly working with Mexican drug cartels. At about 50 per 100,000 Washington, DC may have the highest murder rate in the developed world. In the case of high-profile killings, the authorities quickly round up suspects, but rarely produce evidence linking these individuals to the crime. The incidents of kidnappings in Caracas doubled in 2009 from previous years. [96] Videos circulated on social media showing colectivos threatening protesters and shooting in the streets;[97] two protestors were shot. [citation needed] This is due to Venezuela's economic problems. Statista. [1], Crime has also continued to increase under Chvez's successor, President Nicols Maduro, who continued Chvez's policies that disrupted Venezuela's socioeconomic status. Most violent crimes in Caracas, especially murder, involve firearms. 2020 MPD Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted; 2019 MPD Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted; [5] In 1994, when Rafael Caldera became president, he attempted to strengthen Venezuela's "institution", staying in the center of political issues, performing both conservative and reformative actions that resulted in the increase of the murder rate stopping; though his popularity and the public's trust in the political system decreased.[5]. [51][52] Available data underestimates the amount of express kidnapping, where victims are typically released in less than two days after relatives pay a quick ransom. "The perception of petroleum as the cause of Venezuela's corruption had become widespread during this period." In, InSight Crime. In 2012, La Planta, a prison built in 1964 with a capacity of 350 inmates, held almost 2,500 inmates with many armed with heavy weapons. From 2019 to 2020, the population change was -0.28%. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [84] The Civil Association for Citizen Control said that more than half of those killed during the protests were killed by colectivos. Crime in Venezuela can be attributed to several factors; poverty, retribution, drugs, gangs, and politics. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following CHAVEZ's firing of over 20,000 employees . [138], In Venezuelan prisons, there are reports of prisoners having easy access to firearms, drugs and alcohol. [3] According to the Venezuelan government, the homicide rate in 2013 dropped from 50 to 39 per 100,000. More than 11,000 murders were reported in 2003, as compared with only 2,000 in 1991. in a report issued this month placed the Venezuelan homicide rate at 58 per 100,000 for the year 2012, the most recent year calculated. He also explained that prison are controlled by gangs and that "very little has been done" to control them. The short answer is yes, Venezuela is safe to visit. Colectivos are thought to be partially responsible for the increase in the Venezuelan murder rate, according to the Metropolitan Observatory on Citizen Security. UNICEF reported that 6.9 million students in Venezuela missed almost all classroom instruction between March 2020 and February 2021. Crime in Venezuela is widespread, with violent crimes such as murder and kidnapping increasing annually. There's a lot of poverty in the country, which can lead to desperate measures taken by some people. Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to prevent crime. [100], According to some sources, Venezuela's corruption includes widespread corruption in the police force. The Observatory placed Venezuela's homicide rate for 2014 at 82 per 100,000, with a total of 24,980 killings recorded for the year. [80] In 2006, they received arms and funding from the state when they were brought under the government's community councils. * The figure refers to the violent death rate, which includes violent deaths in which the cause of death is unknown, as well as deadly confrontations involving security forces. The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 4 travel advisory for Venezuela, indicating that it is unsafe to travel to the country, and travelers should not travel there. Reports of armed robberies continue to occur regularly, day or night, in the affluent Caracas residential sections of Chacao, Baruta and El Hatillo. No one else has these. Use of internet and mobile phones are also a commonplace where criminals can take part in street crime while in prison. Lots of frustration, little hope. @media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) {