Is Venezuela Becoming the Most Dangerous Nation in Latin America?

[Bacchus4.0]

http://todayvenezuela.com/2015/01/13/is-venezuela-becoming-the-most-dangerous-nation-in-latin-america/

TODAY VENEZUELA – With nearly 25,000 violent deaths estimated for 2014 and 90 violent deaths reported in Caracas in the first week of 2015, Venezuela may now be one of the most dangerous nations in the Americas, although the lack of official statistics obscure the true scale of the security crisis.

As El Nacional reported, the Caracas Bello Monte morgue received 90 bodies during the first six days of the new year. The violence hasn’t been limited to the Venezuelan capital: in the northern state of Aragua, a gang reportedly ambushed a funeral and killed seven people, wounding another five.

The killings do not bode well for Venezuela, where the government has not released official statistics on violent deaths since 2005. The Venezuelan Violence Observatory, an NGO made up of researchers from seven universities across the country, estimated that there were 24,980 violent deaths in Venezuela last year — including homicides, police killings, and deaths with unknown intent.

OVV researcher Alberto Camardiel told InSight Crime via e-mail that specifically, the OVV estimates the following for 2014:

There were 16,549 homicides in Venezuela — a homicide rate of 54 for every 100,000 people.
There were 3,485 police killings — a rate of about 11 for every 100,000 people.
There were 4,947 deaths of undetermined intent — a rate of about 16 for every 100,000.

[Marksman_91]

1. Another achievement from the glorious revolution n/t