- Title: Venezuela murder rate dips, partly due to migration - monitoring group
- Date: 27th December 2018
- Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 27, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE VENEZUELAN OBSERVATORY OF VIOLENCE (OVV), ROBERTO BRICENO, SPEAKING AT A NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) THE DIRECTOR OF THE VENEZUELAN OBSERVATORY OF VIOLENCE (OVV), ROBERTO BRICENO, SAYING: "This year's results show a rate of 81.4 murders per 100,000 people for a total of 23,047 people
- Embargoed: 10th January 2019 21:16
- Keywords: Venezuela crime murder rate immigration crisis The Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV)
- Location: CARACAS; VALENCIA, CARABOBO STATE; AND TACHIRA STATE, VENEZUELA
- City: CARACAS; VALENCIA, CARABOBO STATE; AND TACHIRA STATE, VENEZUELA
- Country: Venezuela
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0029CQ0HTV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: 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 country, a local crime monitoring group said in a report on Thursday (December 27).
The South American country is in a fifth year of recession caused by a crash in oil prices and an unravelling socialist economic model.
Three million Venezuelans have fled violence, hyperinflation and shortages of basic goods, most since 2015, according to the United Nations.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV) said in its annual report that Venezuela still had the world's highest murder rate, 81.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, but it noted that figure was down from 89 in 2017 and 92 the year before. Director Roberto Briceño attributed the drop in part to migration.
Briceño added that some prominent local gangs appeared to no longer be active in Venezuela, while crimes elsewhere in the region have been attributed to those same groups.
The total number of homicides fell to 23,047 from 26,616 the in 2017, said the OVV, whose researchers have access to police data.
Venezuela's government has accused non-governmental organizations of inflating crime statistics to create paranoia and undermine President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government. Even the most recent official national murder rate - 58 per 100,000 for 2015 - was among the world's highest.
Venezuela's Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the OVV's report. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None