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Venezuela says murder rate plunges under Maduro
Source: Reuters
Venezuela says murder rate plunges under Maduro
BY ANDREW CAWTHORNE AND PATRICIA VELEZ
CARACAS Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:35am EST
(Reuters) - Venezuela's murder rate has fallen by about a quarter this year, the government says, dismissing opponents' talk of ever-rising crime as propaganda.
Violent crime has been Venezuelans' No. 1 concern in recent years. Awash with guns, the South American nation is one of the world's most violent, with an official homicide rate of about 52 per 100,000 people last year, or more than 15,000 victims.
After taking over from late socialist leader Hugo Chavez in April, President Nicolas Maduro declared the war on crime his priority. The former bus driver sent soldiers onto the streets as part of his "Safe Fatherland Plan," among other measures.
Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres, who also heads Venezuela's intelligence service, told Reuters that there had been an immediate impact, with the murder rate likely to end 2013 at a much-improved 39 per 100,000 inhabitants.
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BY ANDREW CAWTHORNE AND PATRICIA VELEZ
CARACAS Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:35am EST
(Reuters) - Venezuela's murder rate has fallen by about a quarter this year, the government says, dismissing opponents' talk of ever-rising crime as propaganda.
Violent crime has been Venezuelans' No. 1 concern in recent years. Awash with guns, the South American nation is one of the world's most violent, with an official homicide rate of about 52 per 100,000 people last year, or more than 15,000 victims.
After taking over from late socialist leader Hugo Chavez in April, President Nicolas Maduro declared the war on crime his priority. The former bus driver sent soldiers onto the streets as part of his "Safe Fatherland Plan," among other measures.
Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres, who also heads Venezuela's intelligence service, told Reuters that there had been an immediate impact, with the murder rate likely to end 2013 at a much-improved 39 per 100,000 inhabitants.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/12/us-venezuela-crime-idUSBRE9BB0LL20131212
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