Editing Venezuela (section)

=== Law and crime ===
{{Main|Law of Venezuela|Crime in Venezuela}}
{{Multiple image
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| width             = 330
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| image1            = 1998 to 2018 Venezuela Murder Rate.png
| image2            = Number of kidnappings in Venezuela 1989 to present (Presidents).png
| caption1          = Murder rate (murder per 100,000 citizens) from 1998 to 2018.
<br />Sources: OVV,<ref>{{cite web|title=Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia |url=http://observatoriodeviolencia.org.ve/ws/ |website=Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia |access-date=16 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216122638/http://observatoriodeviolencia.org.ve/ws/ |archive-date=16 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="FUSIONmr">{{cite news|last1=Rueda|first1=Manuel|title=How Did Venezuela Become So Violent?n|url=http://fusion.net/story/4593/how-did-venezuela-become-so-violent/|access-date=16 December 2014|agency=Fusion TV|date=8 January 2014|archive-date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231035326/http://fusion.net/story/4593/how-did-venezuela-become-so-violent/|url-status=dead}}</ref> PROVEA,<ref name="UNODC2011">{{cite web|title=GLOBAL STUDY ON HOMICIDE 2011|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf|website=UNODC|access-date=16 December 2014|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226010641/http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf%0A|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UNODC2014">{{cite web|title=GLOBAL STUDY ON HOMICIDE 2014|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf|website=UNODC|access-date=16 December 2014|archive-date=22 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722011654/https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> UN<ref name="UNODC2011" /><ref name="UNODC2014" /><ref name="AFP2012">{{cite news|title=Global homicide rates drop, but nearly 500,000 murdered in 2012|url=https://news.yahoo.com/global-homicide-rates-drop-nearly-500-000-murdered-143539493.html|access-date=16 December 2014|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=10 December 2014|archive-date=6 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106022136/https://news.yahoo.com/global-homicide-rates-drop-nearly-500-000-murdered-143539493.html|url-status=live}}</ref><br /> '''*''' UN line between 2007 and 2012 is simulated missing data.
| caption2          = Number of kidnappings in Venezuela 1989–2011.<br />Source: [[Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas|CICPC]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oas.org/dsp/documentos/Publicaciones/Seg%20Publica-%20Venezuela%20y%20Bolivia.pdf |title=SeguridadPúblicayPrivada VenezuelayBolivia |date=August 2009 |publisher=Oas.org |access-date=30 March 2015 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010114507/http://www.oas.org/dsp/documentos/Publicaciones/Seg%20Publica-%20Venezuela%20y%20Bolivia.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CICPC2009">{{cite web |url=http://issuu.com/lexys/docs/fact_sheet_paz_activa/1 |title=Venezuela: Gravísima Crisis de Seguridad Pública by Lexys Rendon |date=12 September 2011 |publisher=ISSUU.com |access-date=30 March 2015 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012090810/https://issuu.com/lexys/docs/fact_sheet_paz_activa/1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eluniversal.com/sucesos/120104/segun-el-cicpc-el-2011-cerro-con-1150-secuestros-en-todo-el-pais |title=Según el Cicpc el 2011 cerró con 1.150 secuestros en todo el país – Sucesos |publisher=Eluniversal.com |date=4 January 2012 |access-date=30 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108102223/http://www.eluniversal.com/sucesos/120104/segun-el-cicpc-el-2011-cerro-con-1150-secuestros-en-todo-el-pais |archive-date=8 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><br />'''*''' [[Express kidnapping]]s may not be included in data.
}}

In Venezuela, a person is murdered every 21 minutes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Castillo|first=Mariano|title=Beauty queen's killers nabbed, Venezuela says|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/world/americas/monica-spear-venezuela-beauty-queen-killed/|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=CNN|date=9 January 2014|archive-date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221100911/http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/world/americas/monica-spear-venezuela-beauty-queen-killed/|url-status=live}}</ref> Violent crimes have been so prevalent in Venezuela that the government no longer produces the crime data.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gallegos|first=Raul|title=Miss Venezuela's Murder Is the Price of Politics|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-10/miss-venezuela-s-murder-is-the-price-of-politics.html|access-date=10 January 2014|work=[[Bloomberg.com]]|date=10 January 2014|archive-date=27 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127115104/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-10/miss-venezuela-s-murder-is-the-price-of-politics.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, the homicide rate was approximately 79 per 100,000, one of the world's highest, having quadrupled in the past 15 years with over 200,000 people murdered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rueda|first=Manuel|title=How Did Venezuela Become So Violent?|url=http://fusion.net/leadership/story/venezuela-violent-iraq-365361|publisher=Fusion|access-date=10 January 2014|archive-date=10 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110235719/http://fusion.net/leadership/story/venezuela-violent-iraq-365361|url-status=dead}}</ref> By 2015, it had risen to 90 per 100,000.<ref name="BBCVenezuela">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-35622188|title=Venezuela's decline fuelled by plunging oil prices|last1=Davies|first1=Wyre|date=20 February 2016|access-date=20 February 2016|publisher=BBC News, Latin America|archive-date=21 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221035418/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-35622188|url-status=live}}</ref> The capital Caracas has one of the greatest homicide rates of any large city in the world, with 122 homicides per 100,000 residents.<ref>{{cite web|title=Venezuela Country Specific Information |url=https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1059.html |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=10 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111012601/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1059.html |archive-date=11 January 2014}}</ref> In 2008, polls indicated that crime was the number one concern of voters.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN14277528 |title=Crime threatens Chavez vote in Venezuela slums |publisher=Uk.reuters.com |date=14 November 2008 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=15 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115215731/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN14277528 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Attempts at fighting crime such as Operation Liberation of the People were implemented to crack down on gang-controlled areas<ref>{{cite news |url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2015/07/13/14-killed-in-caracas-anti-crime-operation | work=Fox News |title=14 Killed in Caracas anti-crime operation |date=13 July 2015 | access-date=16 July 2015 |archive-date=17 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717025212/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2015/07/13/14-killed-in-caracas-anti-crime-operation/ |url-status=live}}</ref> but, of reported criminal acts, less than 2% are prosecuted.<ref name="Finnegan">{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/14/venezuela-a-failing-state|title=Venezuela, A Failing State|last=Finnegan|first=William|date=1 November 2016|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=7 January 2017|archive-date=25 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925104104/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/14/venezuela-a-failing-state|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, the ''Financial Times'' noted that some of the arms procured by the government over the previous two decades had been diverted to paramilitary civilian groups and criminal syndicates.<ref name="broken system" />

Venezuela is especially dangerous for foreign travelers and investors who are visiting. The [[United States Department of State]] and the [[Government of Canada]] have warned foreign visitors that they may be subjected to robbery, kidnapping<ref>{{cite web|url=https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/venezuela.html|title=Venezuela|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=30 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703175448/http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/venezuela.html|archive-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> and murder, and that their own diplomatic travelers are required to travel in [[armored vehicles]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Venezuela Travel Warning|url=https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/venezuela-travel-warning.html|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=9 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130073159/http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/venezuela-travel-warning.html|archive-date=30 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Venezuela|date=16 November 2012|url=http://travel.gc.ca/destinations/venezuela|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=9 February 2014|archive-date=1 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501072806/https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/venezuela|url-status=live}}</ref> The United Kingdom's [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] has advised against all travel to Venezuela.<ref>{{cite news|title=FCO travel advice mapped: the world according to Britain's diplomats|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/23/fco-travel-advice-map|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=24 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624012136/http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/mar/23/fco-travel-advice-map|url-status=live}}</ref> Visitors have been murdered during robberies.<ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuelan Soap Star Monica Spear Slain with Ex-Husband|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/venezuelan-soap-star-monica-spear-slain-ex-husband-n5231|date=8 January 2014|newspaper=NBC News|access-date=7 February 2014|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010132245/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/venezuelan-soap-star-monica-spear-slain-ex-husband-n5231|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=German tourist, 76, shot dead on Venezuelan island|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-shooting-tourist-idUSBREA1621020140207|access-date=9 February 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=7 February 2014|first=Andrew|last=Cawthorne|archive-date=14 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214044010/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/07/us-venezuela-shooting-tourist-idUSBREA1621020140207|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are approximately 33 prisons holding about 50,000 inmates.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/world/americas/venezuela-prison-violence/index.html |title=20 killed in Venezuelan prison violence |publisher=CNN.com |access-date=25 November 2012 |archive-date=28 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928044229/https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/world/americas/venezuela-prison-violence/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Venezuela's prison system is heavily overcrowded; its facilities have capacity for only 14,000 prisoners.<ref>{{cite news|last=Silverstein|first=Amy|title=Venezuela prison riot kills 20|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/venezuela/120820/venezuela-prison-riot-kills-20|access-date=21 August 2012|newspaper=[[Global Post]]|date=20 August 2012|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101201851/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/venezuela/120820/venezuela-prison-riot-kills-20|url-status=live}}</ref>