Venezuela, Deadlier Than Iraq

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
 

Venezuelan Man who was Stabbed in the Eye During a Violent Outbreak (Photo Courtesy of www.sulekha.com)
Venezuelan Man who was Stabbed in the Eye During a Violent Outbreak (Photo Courtesy of www.sulekha.com)

 CARACAS, Venezuela – What has been viewed as an ongoing joke has officially become a grave reality.  It is almost unfathomable to think about, but there are places on earth more dangerous than an active war zone.  While the world is focused on the US war in Iraq because of the never-ending news cycles recounting the number of fatalities in any given given day, little attention is paid to a country that experiences even greater violence, Venezuela.

Venezuela has roughly the same population as Iraq, but experienced nearly four times the number of murders in 2009.  According to 2009 statistics, there were 4,644 civilian casualties in Iraq.  Although violence in Venezuela does not receive the amount of media coverage as Iraq receives, Venezuela’s more than 16,000 murders in 2009 dwarfs Iraqi casualties.

These alarming numbers are not a new phenomenon in a country that has experienced a surge in violence since President Hugo Chavez took office in 1999.  According to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, it is estimated that there have been 118,541 homicides in Venezuela in the past decade.  The Venezuelan government has stopped releasing homicide statistics, but has not disputed the figures presented by VVO.

Wealthier Venezuelan citizens have resorted to hiding their homes behind walls and hiring foreign security personnel to advise them on how to avoid kidnappings and killings.  Unfortunately, every Venezuelan cannot afford such precautions and protection.

While the government has all but ignored the high crime rate, a recent photograph printed in El Nacional, a Venezuelan newspaper, depicting a dozen homicide victims strewn about the city’s largest morgue, has brought the issue to the forefront of Venezuela’s social conscience.  Although the photograph was exceptionally graphic, the most startling news may be that the bodies in the photograph were accumulated after only a two-day stretch.

While the photograph was a stark reminder to those living in the midst of this violence on a daily basis, the Venezuelan government attempted to quietly sweep it under the rug.  Almost immediately, a court ordered the paper to cease publishing the gory photograph and all others like it.  The prohibition has done little to quiet a public outcry that is concerned with why the government sits back in quiet acquiescence and lets the violence continue.

Teodoro Petkoff, the editor of another Venezuelan newspaper, sarcastically stated, “Forget the hundreds of children who die from stray bullets, or the kids who go through the horror of seeing their parents or older siblings killed before their eyes,” in response to the court’s order.

Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas has a murder rate of 200 victims for every 100,000 inhabitants, making it one of the deadliest cities in the Americas.  Other heavily populated South American capital cities, including Bogotá, Colombia and São Paulo, Brazil, have significantly lower murder rates at 22.7 victims per 100,000 inhabitants and 14 victims per 100,000 inhabitants respectively.

Scholars are confounded by the dramatic increase in violence over the last decade.  Some scholars attribute the violence to Venezuela’s shrinking economy.  As the income gap between the rich and the poor broadens, feelings of resentment increase.  In addition to the disenfranchised feelings, Venezuela is littered with illegal firearms.

Along with the income gap widening, Venezuela has the highest inflation rate in the hemisphere.  The inflation rate, coupled with low law enforcement salaries, has caused some law enforcement officials to turn to supplementing their incomes with criminal activity.

Other experts attribute the rise in violence to President Chavez himself.  Throughout the Chavez regime, the judicial system has become increasingly politicized and aligns itself with President Chavez’ political ideals.

To add insult to injury, more than 90 percent of Venezuelan murders go unsolved.  While some of the country’s most brutal killings remain open, the courts seem to tirelessly pursue individuals who are critical of President Chavez.

Bernardo Álvarez Herrera, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States, wrote an open letter to the New York Times claiming that the Venezuelan government is undertaking initiatives, including creating a national security force and funding a training program for law enforcement officials, to end some of the violence.  Herrera claims that stories highlighting the high murder rates understate the Venezuelan government’s efforts to solve the violence problem.  Human rights advocates are not impressed and say that the measures are too timid.

For more information, please see:

Island Crisis – Venezuelan Ambassador to U.S. Writes Open Letter to New York Times – 24 August 2010

New American – Murder Out of Control in Venezuela – 24 August 2010

New York Times – Venezuela, More Deadly than Iraq, Wonders Why – 22 August 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive