This table is taken from an official document from the National Institute for Statistics (page 67). As you can see, INE estimates there were 21,132 homicides in Venezuela in 2009, a horrifying figure, larger than the estimates that Andres Izarra laughed at in CNN, where he questioned the studies, the methodology and the seriousness of the numbers that were being given.
But beyond the homicides, note there were also 26,873 kidnappings, 9,205 cases of sexual abuse and between robbery and theft there were 1,916,625 crimes of those two types in Venezuela. Given that INE projects the population to be today 28,833,845, the last number implies that in the last year alone, one out of every fifteen Venezuelans was robbed.
These are appaling numbers, but we are sure Izarrita is still laughing, that is what he gets paid to do.
Thanks AB!
The Devil's Excrement 
August 28, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Venezuela made it on place 1 in wikipedia…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homicide_rate#cite_note-8
August 27, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Maybe on statistic that is most shocking is that on average nearly 1 in 10 Venezuelans were the victim of a crime last year, which can be borne out anecdotally. Even many non-Venezuelans with minimal contact with the country (in transit my baggage was rummaged and robbed at Maiquetia – on way to Margarita) are crime victims.
Seems that the whole country has become one big barrio.
August 27, 2010 at 1:35 pm
If you bought as a way to obtain foreign currency your $ cost you Bs. 5.1-5.2, if it goes up to where it should be 88-89% your cost goes down to 4.8. In the meantime, you collect around 15% on your dollars (12.75%/price)
Just don’t get too greedy and watch for the possibility of an adverse decision in the World bank’s Court agaisnt venezuela.
August 27, 2010 at 1:18 pm
MO, changing the subjet a little bit.
I have the Global 22, rigth now are at 82,18% in the BCV web page in the SITME system. I really dont know what to do: if keep them to cash the interest (they are very good) or sell them to have the dollars in my bank account without any risk. Those interest payables semestral are good as a cash flow. More that a bank interest.
Please any advice would be appreciate.
August 27, 2010 at 1:11 pm
About reporting and under-reporting of crime, I had one family member kidnapped, one family member car-jacked (and wound up in the hospital), and one neighbor kidnapped. On the kidnappings, both said they would kill the victim if we went to the police…. and nobody did.
Well, actually the family person was kidnapped in the parking lot where he worked in front of a crowd. When the police arrived, the police basically said that they have too many kidnappings to investigate.
With the threats from the kidnappers and the apathy of the police, why would anybody want to report anything?
August 27, 2010 at 12:27 pm
He did not say he did not have it, he said something like, now the opposition wants me to have cancer, but he did not say he did not have it.
Was the visit to Cuba, politics or health?
August 27, 2010 at 11:47 am
Miguel, how did he “sort of” deny it? Didn’t hear the tape.
August 27, 2010 at 11:42 am
The leaks of these INE reports on crime are also the biggest failure of the new official body CESNA, who was supposed to be responsible for this kind of information.
CESNA FAIL!
August 27, 2010 at 11:37 am
I ahve heard it, he denied it last night, sort of.
August 27, 2010 at 11:34 am
Off topic, but has anyone heard of a cancer issue that H Chavez has? According to my sources in Venezuela, it has been reported that he has cancer in the nose to brain area. I’m serious. I’ve seen nothing reported anywhere.
August 27, 2010 at 10:55 am
[…] […]
August 27, 2010 at 10:48 am
I also agree that many robberies (50%??) are not reported for lack of confidence in the police & the system & the red tape.
Been there both personally & with guests.
August 27, 2010 at 10:03 am
Shocking? Check this out:
http://twitpic.com/2imd7w
August 27, 2010 at 9:58 am
My spanish is not so well, but in the document it says the homicide rate would be 75 per 100,000 inhabitants. Since El Salvador is around 71 this would be make Venezuela the nation with the highest homicide rate worldwide. Quite shocking.
August 27, 2010 at 9:33 am
It’s been leaked, and I managed to get a copy. It won’t become inaccessible, worry not. In any case, make sure you all get your copies locally, there’s much data to be distilled from it.
August 27, 2010 at 9:27 am
Downloaded before it disappears or becomes inaccessible. Why did they come clean four weeks before the election? Someone in Chavistaland doesn’t have a good sense of timing. It would have been better for their electoral chances to release this AFTER the election. Maybe they figure it wouldn’t make a difference.
August 27, 2010 at 8:42 am
Hola Miguel
War in peace time. Extreme horrible figures.
But…. Finally clearness in all the dark figures and %´s from the last weeks in all newspapers.
I hope you don´t mind, if I tell my Dutch readers these terrifying figures on my blog.
Muchos gracias
Alpha
August 27, 2010 at 8:37 am
I agree with Firepigette. The sexual crimes and others must be incredibly underreported. Just a murder is a murder and you can only redefine a murder
to a certain extent and it is hard to hide a murder.
Venezuela is sick but people are just behaving as in that video of the other day.
August 27, 2010 at 8:27 am
Hypocrisy is always a problem in all countries…it is a common affliction.In Venezuela it is very bad when it comes to crime and corruption.
I remember that in San Juan, back in the 70’s there was a commission formed in El Prevencion del Delito, to study the bad effect of certain movies from the US.They banned many movies that seemed harmless to me with the pretension that theses same movies had a bad effect on crime.Banning these movies made people feel superior to US Americans and their corrupt ways.These same people turned a blind eye to the countless UNREPORTED crimes in the town.
August 27, 2010 at 8:20 am
Shocking but many crimes in Venezuela, especially sexual ones are never reported.When I was living in el barrio La Morera de San Juan there was a serial killer who ran the abasto next door to my political Uncle.I never let my children run around with the Uncle’s children for this reason, because they always frequented this abasto.Nobody but me was even worried or concerned, in the meantime sexual abuses in this barrio were par for the course as well as theft.Even assault.During carnival time when I walked from Calle Sendrea to the barrio there were countless huge rocks thrown at me.
Statistics are fine for some things, but they are severely limited when it comes to the nature, the reasons, and the true extent of things.
One of the problems we are facing is that people are so used to crime that it is not even seen by many as that important.You cannot weave that into a statistic, but that is what we are really dealing with here, which makes it so hard to control