Venezuela's murder rates rises under Hugo Chavez .
but It is not just murders that are on the increase, but kidnappings as well. In 1998, when President Hugo Chavez took power, there were 50 registered kidnappings per year. Last year there were 382 registered, though experts believe the majority of abductions go unreported.
Many kidnappings occur along the border with Colombia, once the kidnap capital of the world. Many of those kidnapped in the border area are believed held by Colombian rebels, for whom Mr Chavez has expressed support.
The government has sought to deflect blame for crime increases, suggesting that Washington is working with Colombia to finance paramilitary groups intent on killing Mr Chavez and overthrowing his government.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/3184293/Venezuelas-murder-rates-surpass-Colombias-under-Hugo-Chavez.html
Interesting.
The US has 11.3 X the population of Venezuela, but has 50 x the crime rate. Which, according to my feeble statistics means the crime rate in the US is roughly 5x higher than in Venezuela.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Venezuela
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri-crime-total-crimes
The UK (of which the newspaper...if one dares call it that... comes from) has 3 x the population of Venezuela, but has 27 x the crime rate.
Making the crime rate 9x higher...
Taking into account that perhaps the UK and the US convict more criminals and lock up anybody they think might be guilty and have petty crimes on soft drugs and what not... IT STILL LOOKS BLOODY BLEAK FROM WHERE I'M LOOKING!!!
Originally posted by shavixmirI'm not a right-winger, bastard or otherwise; but I don't think Shavixmir's statistics serve much function (except perhaps for teaching us citizens of supposedly civilised countries a bit of humility). That is, they don't answer the specific point that crime has risen under Chavez. If there has been a steep rise in crime in Venezuela on his watch, that surely is a bit of an indictment of his government, no matter how Venezuelan crime rates compare with those in other countries.
Yeah. I thought that would shut you right wing bastards up.
Originally posted by TeinosukeWith crime as low as it is in Venezuela, surely it's within reason to assume they've become more adequate at fighting and reporting crime (especially considering the former regimes)...
I'm not a right-winger, bastard or otherwise; but I don't think Shavixmir's statistics serve much function (except perhaps for teaching us citizens of supposedly civilised countries a bit of humility). That is, they don't answer the specific point that crime has [b] risen under Chavez. If there has been a steep rise in crime in Venezuela on his watch, ...[text shortened]... his government, no matter how Venezuelan crime rates compare with those in other countries.[/b]
Originally posted by TeinosukeThe reason Chavez does nothing about crime in his country is because it serves his interests. If you get out of line, then they kidnap you and kill you and blame it on outside agitators; then they can justify taking away more freedoms. This is classic Orwellian and socialist revolutionary stuff. A more important question, though, is: If the Bolivarian revolution is so great, then why can't Chavez pick up the trash?
I'm not a right-winger, bastard or otherwise; but I don't think Shavixmir's statistics serve much function (except perhaps for teaching us citizens of supposedly civilised countries a bit of humility). That is, they don't answer the specific point that crime has [b] risen under Chavez. If there has been a steep rise in crime in Venezuela on his watch, ...[text shortened]... his government, no matter how Venezuelan crime rates compare with those in other countries.[/b]