Honduras took the first position with a This is a situation that currently affects the life of every Venezuelan. In the mid-1970s Lesotho witnessed a murder rate of 141 per 100,000, while more recently Columbia's murder rate was variously estimate at between 63 and 84 per 100,000. 10 Safest Cities in Venezuela (2023 Updated) - Travel Safe Murder rate : Homicide rate per year per 100,000 inhabitants in various countries. Owing to its ever-growing homicide rate, Venezuela is among the most dangerous countries in Latin America and the world. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low . Venezuela has 'world's highest murder rate' - YouTube Crime in Venezuela - Wikipedia Lesotho (41.2 per 100,000) Lesotho is a small country found in southern Africa. Profit from the additional features of your individual account. Reports of armed robberies continue to occur regularly, day or night, in the affluent Caracas residential sections of Chacao, Baruta and El Hatillo. They also mentioned that hundreds of violent deaths occur at Venezuelan prisons each year. Crime in Valenzuela. Safety in Valenzuela - Numbeo }, Page last modified:
Venezuela Crime Rate & Statistics 1990-2023 | MacroTrends The prison is described as a "paradise", with a community including pools, bars, a boxing ring and many other accommodations for any visitor of prisoners who can stay the night at the prison for up to three days per week. [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. Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2017 was 49.88, a 14.47% decline from 2016. 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. . Since then, Venezuela has faced extreme inflation that exacerbates with each passing year. In 2020, the country had a crime rate of 99.7 per 100,000 people. . Venezuela | World Prison Brief By the end of 2019, there was an increase in the number of predatory crimes again as well as extortion by criminal elements and government officials. [119] The plan, created by Miguel Rodrguez Torres,[120] included the placement of 37,000 authorities throughout the country. Most violent crimes in Caracas, especially murder, involve firearms. The mass release, however, quickly overwhelmed the capacity of police to maintain order. [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. This overview of Venezuela's criminal justice system encompasses political and legal systems, the nature and extent of crime, victims, law enforcement, the prosecutorial and judicial process, the judicial system, penalties and sentencing, the prison system, and extradition and treaties. The goal of Plan Patria Segura to disarm, prevent organized crime and drug enforcement. FBI Table 1 [63] Venezuelan officials have also been allegedly working with Mexican drug cartels. . Venezuelan cities with the highest homicide rates 2020 | Statista Crime rates in Venezuela. InSight Crime. [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. Homicide rate in Venezuela 2022 | Statista South Africa - 36.40. According to Numbeo, Venezuela is the country with the highest crime rate which is 84.36. [121] Some have criticized Plan Patria Segura calling it a failure after crime continued to increase following its implementation. Backlinks from other websites and blogs are the lifeblood of our site and are our primary source of new traffic. [104] The Metropolitan Police force in Caracas was so corrupt that it was accused of assisting some of the 17,000 kidnappings. [40][41] The cover ups were possibly performed following an El Nacional cover story showing piles of corpses scattered throughout a morgue in Venezuela. Originally, looters would wait for trucks to crash and loot the scene, though recently trucks have been attacked instead. Venezuela crisis in brief. [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. He also explained that prison are controlled by gangs and that "very little has been done" to control them. However, some things travelers should be aware of before they go. . [140][141], Edgardo Lander, a sociologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela with a PhD in sociology from Harvard University explained that Venezuelan prisons are "practically a school for criminals" since young inmates come out "more sort of trained and hardened than when they went in". There's a lot of poverty in the country, which can lead to desperate measures taken by some people. [5] According to Gareth A. Jones and Dennis Rodgers in their book Youth violence in Latin America: Gangs and Juvenile Justice in Perspective, "With the change of political regime in 1999 and the initiation of the Bolivarian Revolution, a period of transformation and political conflict began, marked by a further increase in the number and rate of violent deaths" showing that in four years, the murder rate had increased from 25 per 100,000 in 1999 to 44 per 100,000 in 2003. Venezuela is a limited democratic federal republic, and the legal system is based on a civil model largely influenced by historical European dominance. US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, International Crime Statistics Program, Territories Financial Support Center (TFSC), Tribal Financial Management Center (TFMC). Armed robberies take place in broad daylight throughout the city, including areas generally presumed safe and frequented by tourists. [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. Much like Valencia, Maracaibo offers a big city feel but has a bit of a higher crime rate. . But perhaps the most ironic contribution to Venezuela's high crime rate may lie in the failure of Chavez's government to fully deliver on the egalitarian . * 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. Listed rates only reflect crimes that have been reported to the authorities. Venezuela - 36.69. 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. [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. In some cases, crime has grown so pervasive in Venezuela that the military is ordered to avoid public places during nighttime hours since criminals often attempt to steal their weapons, with robberies in the country often targeting unaware individuals using a kill first, steal later method. Is Venezuela Safe? 2022 Safety Guide for the Land of Grace Therefore, it is common practice in Caracas to never resist an attempted robbery. According to the BBC article, 4 of 5 kidnappings are express kidnappings which are not included in government statistics. Please check your download folder. [55], In 2007, authorities in Colombia claimed that through laptops they had seized on a raid against Raul Reyes, they found documents purporting to show that Hugo Chvez offered payments of as much as $300 million USD to the FARC. More than 11,000 murders were reported in 2003, as compared with only 2,000 in 1991. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported.
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. 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. Chavez's penal code reform of 1999 led to 12,000 criminals being released from jail and put back on the streets without supervision. If you use our chart images on your site or blog, we ask that you provide attribution via a link back to this page. Millions of people have been pushed into poverty as a result of the country's years-long crisis. [19] The Chvez government banned private gun ownership in 2012[20][21] but overall crime rate has kept increasing since. Don't go expecting justice if you are a victim of crime - only a very small percentage of crimes result in trials and convictions. PDF The dramatic increase of violent crime in Venezuela since 1999 [133] According to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons (OVP), from 1999 to 2015, there were 22,998 violent incidents, with 16,417 injured and 6,581 inmates killed. Venezuela - Crime - GlobalSecurity.org [16], In the early-20th century, Venezuela was limited to violent crimes occurring in rural areas. The practical effect of the penal code reform was to make police officers more hesitant to make arrests. For adolescents from 10 to 19 years of age, the homicide rate is 39 per 100,000 people; for males between of those ages, the rate is 74 per 100,000, while it's just 3 per 100,000 for females in . [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. Crime Rate by Country 2023 - worldpopulationreview.com Chavez's public statements also serve to decriminalize delinquency, such as when he said that if he were as poor as many in Venezuela's vast slums, he too would commit crimes to help feed his family. Before President Hugo Chavez came to power, Venezuela had a homicide rate similar to that of Brazil and Mexico, of between 18 and 20 victims per 100,000 inhabitants. World Report 2022: Venezuela | Human Rights Watch And, Qatar is the country with the least crime rate with 12.29 people per 100,000. Insight Crime attributes Venezuela's rise in violence to a range . [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. Learn more about how Statista can support your business. [130], The majority of Venezuelans surveyed in the Rule of Law Index 2015 believed the judicial system was corrupt with 98% believing the correctional system was ineffective while 100% thought the government had improper influence in the criminal justice system. [96], Corruption in Venezuela is high by world standards, and has been for much of the 20th century. [86][87] Amnesty International calls them "armed pro-government supporters who are tolerated or supported by the authorities". Data prior to 2022 were retrieved from previous releases of the publication. In 2015, Caracas, Venezuela, had a homicide rate of 75 per 100,000 inhabitants, which made it one of the most violent cities in the world that year. With 16,000 homicides last year, Venezuela became the world's second deadliest country. Venezuela Population and Demographics from Venezuela | - CountryReports Venezuela's president blames telenovelas for crime - USA TODAY Victims do not have a role in sentencing unless they initiate the prosecution. [78], At least 80% of kidnappings occur in a limited area around Caracas and including Miranda State. [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. One prisoner explained how, If the guards mess with us, we shoot them and that he had "seen a man have his head cut off and people play football with it.[139], In a Journeyman Pictures documentary titled Venezuela - Party Prison, a reporter visits San Antonio Prison on Margarita Island. Following this year, the population is expected to start growing again for the next few decades. Even the government's official statistics show that 1,050 kidnappings were reported this year through October - which is 23 times more than number recorded when Hugo Chvez was elected 13 years ago . [1][2][3][4] The majority of violent crimes in Venezuela take place in impoverished areas. There is no evidence to indicate criminals and gang-related activities specifically target U.S. citizens. Aponte also claimed that Henry Rangel, former defense minister of Venezuela and General Clver Alcal Cordones were both involved with the drug trade in Venezuela. Crimes vary widely between states and countries, with crime rates much higher than in the USA's largest . Safety and security - Venezuela travel advice - GOV.UK Over the last several years, Venezuela has become a pivotal player in the international drug trafficking game. Traditional kidnappings also remain a security concern in Venezuela. Private gun ownership was banned in Venezuela in June 2012, but their homicide rate went from 73 per 100,000 people in 2012 to 82 per 100,000 people in 2015. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is . Venezuela has a high crime rate. [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. Venezuela (83.76) Papua New Guinea (80.79) South Africa (76.86) Afghanistan (76.31) Honduras (74.54) Trinidad and . ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Accessed March 04, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/984669/homicide-rate-venezuela/, InSight Crime. If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. Venezuelan authorities claimed the incident was an escape attempt by inmates, while the Venezuelan Prison Observatory noted the inmates were angry over insufficient food and water and called for an investigation. Armed assaults and robberies continue to be a part of normal everyday life. A decades-old problem in Venezuela, armed robberies, kidnappings and murders climbed during the 1999-2013 rule of . This left police across the country vastly out-gunned by narcotraffickers and other criminal groups. Official websites use .gov 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). 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. [99] Venezuela has been ranked one of the most corrupt countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index, going back to the start of the survey in 1995. San Pedro Sula, in the northwest of the country, is at the center of much of this small Central American country's violence. [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]. [40], Director James Brabazon stated that "kidnapping crimes had skyrocketed after late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez freed thousands of violent prisoners as part of controversial criminal justice system reforms" while also increasing due to Colombian organized crime as well. Edgardo Lander on Reality Asserts Itself (7/9)", "IACHR Reiterates Need to Prevent Acts of Violence in Venezuelan Prison", "Ria colectiva de Uribana cobra dos vidas y deja 128 heridos", "Coliseo en Uribana sigue y llega a 128 heridos", "Venezuela prison riot kills at least 40, including warden", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crime_in_Venezuela&oldid=1127469872, This page was last edited on 14 December 2022, at 22:16. 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". According to the World Atlas, Venezuela has the highest crime rate globally. Human rights groups suggest that the government's policing efforts are too "timid". [109] 2014 Gallup polls showed that only 19% of Venezuelans felt safe walking alone at night, with nearly one quarter of the respondents stating that they or a household member had money stolen from them in the past year. [136], The Acarigua prison riot in 2019, left 29 prisoners dead, and 19 guards injured. 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. Venezuela Has World's Second-Highest Homicide Rate: NGO In Venezuela, debate and discussion is not what the government is interested in, they want only loyalty. Only a very small percentage of criminals are tried and convicted. Violent crime is rife in both the capital Caracas and the interior, and as a foreigner you are a prime target. [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 Faces Crime Epidemic : NPR Monthly Reports. [24], The U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security says most of the violence comes from organized street gangs, and attributes criminal activity to four factors: "often corrupt" underpaid police, an "inefficient and politicized judicial system", problems in the prison system, and widespread availability of weapons. [28][31] PROVEA figures provided in the UN's 2014 Global Homicide Book put Venezuela's homicide rate at 53.7 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012, closer to the Venezuelan government's 2012 estimate,[29] but still the second highest peacetime murder rate in the world after Honduras (estimated at 90.4). World Report 2021: Venezuela | Human Rights Watch Over 90 percent of homicides in Venezuela go unpunished. [91] As colectivos attempted to gain independence from the government, they began "controlling organized crime like drug trafficking in Caracas barrios". Violent Crime Rates by Country 2022 - World Populace [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. Crime in Venezuela. People avoid being out Well armed criminal gangs operate with impunity, often setting up fake police checkpoints. [137] Over 40 inmates were killed and an unknown number of guards and inmates were wounded during a May 2020 incident at Los Llanos jail near the city of Guanare. According to the VVO, a rate of 122 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 8, 2023). [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". Phil Gunson, a freelance reporter for foreign media, states that, "It's no secret that many colectivos engage in criminal activities." [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. Much of Caracas crime and violence can be attributed to mobile street gangs and organized crime groups. Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are active in Venezuela. In 2019, the murder rate declined significantly to 60.3. Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to prevent crime. lack of economic opportunities, steep inflation, a high crime rate, and corruption. [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. [80] In 2006, they received arms and funding from the state when they were brought under the government's community councils. [39], In 2009, it was reported that Venezuelan authorities would assign judicial police to Caracas area morgues to speak with families. The methods of accomplishing these tasks were through surveillance, checking documents, verification checkpoints and to help guide communities. An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice. Guns in Venezuela Firearms, gun law and gun control in 15 years of Chvista rule, there have been 13 . Many Venezuelans abroad . The criticism follows attacks last year by Maduro on violent video games and the Hollywood movie "Spider-man." In a report . Crime statistics indicate the crime rate rose from 700 per 100,000 population in 1972 to 1,300 per 100,000 population in 1990.