The Chavez government's failure on crime
Fifty-Two Violent Deaths a Day, and No Respite in Sight
In November 2007, most Venezuelan poll respondents said safety was the primary problem facing the country.
By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, May 23 (IPS) - On the day a report was released ranking Venezuela as one of the most violent countries in the world, a local anti-drugs prosecutor was murdered, a mob lynched a suspected criminal in the capital, and gunmen fired 20 shots, killing another suspect.
In the 72 hours leading up to the publication of the Global Peace Index (GPI), 70 murders were reported in the metropolitan area of Caracas, which has five million residents.
One of the victims was Oskel Rubio, a mechanic who maintained the motorcycles used by President Hugo Chávez’s bodyguards. He was killed by thieves who stole his car in the densely populated western area of the capital.
His mother, Elizabeth Rubio, complained that police at the entrance of the hospital where her seriously wounded son was taken delayed his admission to the medical centre and stole some of his belongings.
In the 24 hours prior to the publication of the GPI report on Tuesday, five minors were shot to death, including a six-year-old girl who was shot in the chest as she played at home in western Caracas at breakfast time, and an 11-year-old boy riding in a bus who was killed by cross-fire between rival gangs in an eastern part of the city.
Colombia and Venezuela are the only countries in the Americas coloured red on the map of the GPI, a peace and violence ranking based on 24 variables in 140 countries, compiled by the Intelligence Unit of the British news magazine The Economist, in conjunction with the Institute for Economics and Peace.
At the most violent end of the spectrum, with more than 3,000 points, is Iraq, accompanied by Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Israel, while the most peaceful countries, coloured blue on the map, are Iceland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand and Japan, with less than 1,400 points.
Within Latin America, the least violent countries are Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Panama.
In the report, Venezuela is in 123rd place with 2,505 points, close to Colombia, in 130th place with a score of 2,707. Between them in the ranking are Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Pakistan, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(click here to view entire report)
In November 2007, most Venezuelan poll respondents said safety was the primary problem facing the country.By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, May 23 (IPS) - On the day a report was released ranking Venezuela as one of the most violent countries in the world, a local anti-drugs prosecutor was murdered, a mob lynched a suspected criminal in the capital, and gunmen fired 20 shots, killing another suspect.
In the 72 hours leading up to the publication of the Global Peace Index (GPI), 70 murders were reported in the metropolitan area of Caracas, which has five million residents.
One of the victims was Oskel Rubio, a mechanic who maintained the motorcycles used by President Hugo Chávez’s bodyguards. He was killed by thieves who stole his car in the densely populated western area of the capital.
His mother, Elizabeth Rubio, complained that police at the entrance of the hospital where her seriously wounded son was taken delayed his admission to the medical centre and stole some of his belongings.
In the 24 hours prior to the publication of the GPI report on Tuesday, five minors were shot to death, including a six-year-old girl who was shot in the chest as she played at home in western Caracas at breakfast time, and an 11-year-old boy riding in a bus who was killed by cross-fire between rival gangs in an eastern part of the city.
Colombia and Venezuela are the only countries in the Americas coloured red on the map of the GPI, a peace and violence ranking based on 24 variables in 140 countries, compiled by the Intelligence Unit of the British news magazine The Economist, in conjunction with the Institute for Economics and Peace.
At the most violent end of the spectrum, with more than 3,000 points, is Iraq, accompanied by Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Israel, while the most peaceful countries, coloured blue on the map, are Iceland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand and Japan, with less than 1,400 points.
Within Latin America, the least violent countries are Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Panama.
In the report, Venezuela is in 123rd place with 2,505 points, close to Colombia, in 130th place with a score of 2,707. Between them in the ranking are Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Pakistan, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(click here to view entire report)
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