[24] InSight Crime says the crisis has "all too often been obscured by the government's reluctance to release damning crime statistics". UNICEF reported that 6.9 million students in Venezuela missed almost all classroom instruction between March 2020 and February 2021. 18 December 2020. 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. Since 2017, when it peaked . [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. Much like Valencia, Maracaibo offers a big city feel but has a bit of a higher crime rate. [66][67][68] One informant stated that the two would often fly out of Terminal 4 of Simon Bolivar International Airport, a terminal reserved for the president. [58][59] According to Greg Palast, the claim about Chavez's $300 million is based on the following (translated) sentence: "With relation to the 300, which from now on we will call 'dossier', efforts are now going forward at the instructions of the cojo [slang term for 'cripple'], which I will explain in a separate note." [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. Honduras took the first position with a This is a situation that currently affects the life of every Venezuelan. Between 1998-2006, there were 90.027 of murders in Venezuela. Crime statistics indicate the crime rate rose from 700 per 100,000 population in 1972 to 1,300 per 100,000 population in 1990. ", InSight Crime, Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/984669/homicide-rate-venezuela/ (last visited March 04, 2023), Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) [Graph], InSight Crime, February 8, 2023. [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. The murder rate in Venezuela, one of the world's highest-crime countries, dipped in 2018 as some criminals apparently joined millions of law-abiding compatriots in leaving the crisis-stricken . [121] Some have criticized Plan Patria Segura calling it a failure after crime continued to increase following its implementation. Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to prevent crime. Caracas continues to be notorious for the brazenness of certain high profile, violent crimes such as murder, robberies and kidnappings. By comparison, the murder rate for New York City is 6.4, 3.8 for Los Angeles and 18.2 for Chicago. Belize - 37.79. 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. [96] Videos circulated on social media showing colectivos threatening protesters and shooting in the streets;[97] two protestors were shot. The higher the value, the more survey respondents believe it is high in their country. Murder rate: Homicide rate per year per 100,000 inhabitants in various countries. In 2009, there were record levels of murders (nearly 1,500), robberies (3,000), and kidnappings (99) reported to the Police in Miranda. Crime in Venezuela can be attributed to several factors; poverty, retribution, drugs, gangs, and politics. [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]. According to the Public Ministrys 2010 annual report, approximately 9 percent of the 378,108 cases involving common crimes resulted in the filing of criminal charges. [1][2][3][4] 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). We have provided a few examples below that you can copy and paste to your site: Your data export is now complete. In 2022, there were nearly 40.4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the country, down from a homicide rate of 40.9 year earlier. Retrieved from, Last edited on 14 December 2022, at 22:16, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Minister of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, "Latin America Scores Lowest on Security", "Venezuela es el pas ms inseguro del mundo, segn un estudio", "With 28,479 killings, Venezuela takes second spot on world murder ranking", "Tres fases de la violencia homicida en Venezuela", "Chavez leaves Venezuelan economy more equal, less stable", "For Venezuela, Drop In Global Oil Prices Could Be Catastrophic", "Why Venezuelans worry more about food than crime", "Looting and violence on the rise in Venezuela supermarkets", "On Venezuela's highways, a disabled truck increasingly means a looted truck", "Venezuela murder rate dips, partly due to migration: monitoring group", "Venezuela, otra vez el pas ms peligroso de Amrica Latina: registr 16.506 muertes violentas en 2019", "Venezuelan beauty queen gets carjacked at gunpoint", "Venezuelans regret gun ban, 'a declaration of war against an unarmed population', "Crime is so bad in Venezuela that even soldiers were ordered to avoid driving at night", "Los venezolanos creen vivir en el pas ms peligroso del mundo", "Reports of kidnapping in Venezuela nearly double in 2016", "Venezuela rocked by killing of beauty queen Monica Spear", "Venezuela se desangra: rcord de homicidios en 2013", "Venezuela's Homicide Rate Rises, NGO's Report Says", "Venezuela, More Deadly Than Iraq, Wonders Why", "Venezuela sufre 2000 muertes violentas por mes", "Venezuela's Maduro launches civilian disarmament plan", "Observer group: Venezuelan homicide rate rose in 2015, rivaling El Salvador as world's highest", "Venezuela first among the most violent countries in LatAm", "Attorney General's UN Gaffe Reveals Venezuela's Record-High Murder Rate Violence at Epidemic Levels Based on Government's Own Figures", "Venezuela's escalating violence seen in killing of Carolina Herrera's nephew", "One in 10 girls sexually abused worldwide: UN", "Venezuela favorece a los familiares de fallecidos que no informan a la prensa", "Hubo 16,917 secuestros en 2009 en Venezuela", "SeguridadPblicayPrivada VenezuelayBolivia", "Venezuela: Gravsima Crisis de Seguridad Pblica by Lexys Rendon", "Segn el Cicpc el 2011 cerr con 1.150 secuestros en todo el pas Sucesos", "Welcome to Venezuela, the kidnap capital of the world", "Taking no prisoners in the kidnap capital of the world: On the streets of Caracas with an elite police squad", "EN EL 2009 SE COMETIERON MS DE 16.000 SECUESTROS EN VENEZUELA, SEGN EL GOBIERNO LOCAL", "Venezuela y los secuestros diarios que no se reportan", "Ubican a Venezuela en el quinto lugar en riesgo de secuestros", "For Venezuelans, Kidnappings Are Simply Business As Usual", "Agentes de inteligencia venezolanos operan bandas de secuestro y extorsin", "FARC Computer Files Are Authentic, Interpol Probe Finds", "$300 Million From Chavez to FARC a Fake", "Interpol Analysis of FARC Laptop Authenticity Will Not "Prove" Links Between Venezuela, Rebels", "Treasury Targets Venezuelan Government Officials Supporting the FARC", "National Assembly removes Justice Aponte Aponte", "Venezuelan official: Ex-judge 'sold his soul' to the DEA", "Corrupt military officials helping Venezuela drug trade flourish", "Fuente AP: Aponte Aponte est en contacto con la DEA. The majority of crimes that dominate the environment in Caracas are express kidnappings, carjackings, robberies, and home invasions. Perez also states that evidence shows that crime is organized from within these prisons. [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. Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to . Prison population total. Professor Neelie Perez from the University of Caracas explained how it is difficult for the government to control prisons without resorting to violence, therefore recognizing and legitimizing high ranking prisoners as heads of prisons. [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. Facebook: quarterly number of MAU (monthly active users) worldwide 2008-2022, Quarterly smartphone market share worldwide by vendor 2009-2022, Number of apps available in leading app stores Q3 2022, Profit from additional features with an Employee Account. Investigation of all crime is haphazard and ineffective. Crime levels in the Greater Caracas area remain severe and widespread. Police officers are authorized to use force, stop and apprehend suspects, and conduct searches and seizures. According to a victimization survey conducted by Venezuela's National Institute of Statistics, in the year leading up to July 2009, 46 kidnappings took place every day in Venezuela, a much . [5] The rise of murders in Venezuela following the Chvez presidency has also been attributed by experts to the corruption of Venezuelan authorities, poor gun control and a poor judiciary system. Year End Reports. Coronil, F. (1988), World Prison Brief (n/d). [50], There is no reliable data on kidnapping in Venezuela and available data is considered an underestimate. [SOURCE] In early 2006 the murder rate in Baghdad appeared to be about 200 per 100,000 [SOURCE]. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported. Express kidnappings (secuestro express) have become more common than traditional kidnappings. 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. 10. Prosecutors rarely brought cases against perpetrators of unlawful killings. [50], Venezuela is a significant route for drug trafficking, with Colombian cocaine and other drugs transiting Venezuela towards the United States and Europe. [111] In 2017, it was revealed that even military personnel became targets, with criminals instead beginning to just kill all of their victims before stealing their belongings, introducing a more violent face to theft in the country. The penal reform also included provisions for the prosecution of any police officer found to have made an arrest "without cause." Many Venezuelans abroad . If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. Honduras had 41.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 2017. Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. In the areas where most kidnappings occur, the government set up so-called "peace zones" where official police withdrew and criminal 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". [142], In Venezuelan prisons, inmates partake in gladiatorial matches to settle disputes. [5] By 1993, Venezuela's murder rate stood at 21 homicides per 100,000 people. Venezuela has extradition treaties with most Latin American countries. Currently, you are using a shared account. [102][103] A 2013 Gallup study showed that only 26% of Venezuelans have faith in their local police. lack of economic opportunities, steep inflation, a high crime rate, and corruption. [51] At least 80% of kidnappings occur in a limited area around Caracas and including Miranda State. Police authorities cite a lack of resources, under-staffing, payroll issues and lack of response by the judicial and corrections systems, as the key reasons why response times are delayed and a significant amount of criminals go unpunished. Caracas, Venezuela reputedly has a murder rate over 100 per 100,000. In the case of high-profile killings, the authorities quickly round up suspects, but rarely produce evidence linking these individuals to the crime. The majority of violent crimes in Venezuela take place in impoverished areas. Home invasions have occurred in buildings where U.S. Embassy employees reside. Since then, Venezuela has faced extreme inflation that exacerbates with each passing year. The incidents of kidnappings in Caracas doubled in 2009 from previous years. [54] According to experts, kidnappings and torture by the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence increased during the 8-year tenure of Hugo Carvajal. Those injured had to be assisted by a church in the area. [130][dead link], Venezuelan prisons are led by "pranes" or criminal bosses that operate while jailed. All of this is done while driving the victim around the city for several hours. A decades-old problem in Venezuela, armed robberies, kidnappings and murders climbed during the 1999-2013 rule of . The criticism follows attacks last year by Maduro on violent video games and the Hollywood movie "Spider-man." [41], In 2011, the Venezuelan government's statistics reported an average of two kidnappings per day, while other estimates showed 50 kidnappings per day. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. A lock ( San Antonio Prison was controlled by El Conejo (The Rabbit), a powerful jailed drug trafficker who makes his "enforcers" patrol the prison. Petty theft often ends in murder. in 15 years of Chvista rule, there have been 13 . There is no evidence to indicate criminals and gang-related activities specifically target U.S. citizens. Chavez's penal code reform of 1999 led to 12,000 criminals being released from jail and put back on the streets without supervision. Overview and forecasts on trending topics, Industry and market insights and forecasts, Key figures and rankings about companies and products, Consumer and brand insights and preferences in various industries, Detailed information about political and social topics, All key figures about countries and regions, Market forecast and expert KPIs for 600+ segments in 150+ countries, Insights on consumer attitudes and behavior worldwide, Business information on 60m+ public and private companies, Detailed information for 35,000+ online stores and marketplaces. 2020 MPD Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted; 2019 MPD Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted; Crime statistics indicate the crime rate rose from 700 per 100,000 population in 1972 to 1,300 per 100,000 population in 1990. These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. #ga-ad {display: none;} No figure for the country's homicide rate was released that year. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. 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. [Online]. [60] In March 2012, Venezuela's National Assembly removed Supreme Court Justice Eladio Aponte Aponte from his post after an investigation revealed alleged ties to drug-trafficking;[61] on the day he was to face questioning, Aponte Aponte fled the country, and has sought refuge in the U.S., where he began to cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice. While reported incidents of murder in Venezuela decreased slightly to almost 14,000, the number of reported murders in the State of Miranda (which encompasses the greater Caracas area) increased. [100], According to some sources, Venezuela's corruption includes widespread corruption in the police force. Let's get into it. Thor Halvorssen, founder of the Human Rights Foundation[17], Under Hugo Chvez, the "institution" of Venezuela deteriorated, with political instability, impunity and violent government language increasing. [16], In the early-20th century, Venezuela was limited to violent crimes occurring in rural areas. [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". [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". [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. [46] On 22 September 2014, President Maduro announced that his government would invest $47 million to create 60 new disarmament centers, and $39 million to fund a plan under which soldiers would patrol the most dangerous neighborhoods. Please do not hesitate to contact me. [114][115], During the presidency of the Hugo Chvez, more than 20 programs were created attempting to deter crime, though insecurity continued to increase following their implementation. [50] In Venezuela's prisons, inmates will use "telemarketing" strategies, creating fear in individuals so that they will pay before possibly being kidnapped. [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. Statista. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - 36.54. Venezuela's out of control violent crime. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported. Latin America & Caribbean: homicide rate 2022, by country, Latin America & Caribbean: intentional homicide rate 2020, by country. According to the BBC article, 4 of 5 kidnappings are express kidnappings which are not included in government statistics. The discovery of oil worsened political corruption,[98] and by the late 1970s, Juan Pablo Prez Alfonso's description of oil as "the Devil's excrement" became a common expression in Venezuela. According to the VVO, a rate of 122 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in . . Police in Venezuela make arrests for only eight of every 100 murders . "Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants)." [3] According to the Venezuelan government, the homicide rate in 2013 dropped from 50 to 39 per 100,000. For Crime Statistics, please contact Lance Eber at (209) 385-4701. [51][52] While it is against the law to pay a ransom, according to criminologists, at least 80% of kidnappings are not reported for fear of retaliation,[53] or because relatives prefer to negotiate, hoping the hostage will be released and fearing they will be killed if authorities are contacted. [107] Petty crime such as pick-pocketing is prevalent, particularly in public transport terminals in Caracas. [144][145], In 2014, on average, Venezuelan prisons held 231% of their capacity, according to Alessio Bruni of the U.N. Committee against Torture. Crime in Venezuela is widespread, with violent crimes such as murder and kidnapping increasing annually. During the tenure of Minister of Prison Services Iris Varela, pranes were given control of prisons with the belief that they would maintain leadership and lower violence. [82][83], During the 2014 Venezuelan protests against Maduro, colectivos acted against the opposition protesters. Reports of armed robberies continue to occur regularly, day or night, in the affluent Caracas residential sections of Chacao, Baruta and El Hatillo. Listed rates only reflect crimes that have been reported to the authorities. [45], In leaked government INE data for kidnappings in the year 2009, the number of kidnappings were at an estimated 16,917, contrasting the CICPCs number of only 673,[43] before the Venezuelan government blocked the data. While the government has refused to release its own statistics for years, a recent report by an NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory on Violence, estimates that 24,000 people were murdered in 2013 . [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 crime rate & statistics for 2015 was 52.04, a 17.85% decline from 2014. This left police across the country vastly out-gunned by narcotraffickers and other criminal groups. [110] In June 2016, it was reported that the town of Cuman was under effective curfew after an outbreak of mass looting. The crime rate in the United State is 47.77 which is more than 55 countries. 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. In 2020, the capital city Caracas ranked third in the ranking of most violent Venezuelan metropolises, with a . Venezuela Drug Addiction Problem. Many unaffiliated criminals are also increasingly involved in kidnappings, either dealing with victim's families directly or selling the victim to terrorist groups. Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to prevent crime. [66][67] Due to the fact that the "sobrinos" (nephews in Spanish) of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were arrested for narcotics trafficking, the media described the nephews as the narcosobrinos. Varela was also known to be acquainted with El Conejo, as critic Carlos Nieto showed the reporter a photo of Varela with El Conejo on his bed. Venezuela's 30 prison facilities are operated by the Ministry of Justice throughout the country, and the prison population is 40 percent over capacity. With a murder rate of 130 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, Caracas is generally considered the most dangerous city in Latin America, if not the world. Police officers : Number of police officers per 100,000 population. [34][35] Attorney General Luisa Ortega Daz stated to the United Nations that the rate was 62 per 100,000 for 2014, nearly twice as high as claimed in 2013. [40][41] It was also reported that police would intercept the families of the victims and take them to the library of the University Institute of the Scientific Police (IUPOLC) where authorities offered families ways to "streamline procedures and advise them not to give information to the press in return for their aid". You only have access to basic statistics. Venezuela Crime Profiles (Subcategories) Fear of crime 9: Smuggling of migrants 4: Perceived problems 4: Suicide rates 3: Prisoners 4: Violent crime 6: Punishment 6: Venezuela categories.