Editing Hugo Chávez (section)

===Crime and punishment===
{{further|Crime in Venezuela}}
[[File:1998 to 2018 Venezuela Murder Rate.png|400px|thumbnail|right|Murder rate (1 murder per 100,000 citizens) from 1998 to 2018 '''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 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014100132/http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2011 |url-status=live|website=UNODC|access-date=16 December 2014}}</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 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424064812/http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf |archive-date=24 April 2014 |url-status=live|website=UNODC|access-date=16 December 2014}}</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}}</ref><br /> '''*''' UN line between 2007 and 2012 is simulated missing data]]
[[File:Venezuela kidnappings past 1989.png|400px|thumbnail|right|Number of kidnappings in Venezuela 1989–2011<br />'''Source''': [[Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas|CICPC]]<ref name="oas.org">{{cite web|title=Seguridad Pública y Privada: Venezuela y Bolivia|url=https://www.oas.org/dsp/documentos/Publicaciones/Seg%20Publica-%20Venezuela%20y%20Bolivia.pdfela%20y%20Bolivia.pdf|website=oas.org|date=August 2009 |publisher=[[Organization of American States]]|access-date=18 October 2015}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</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 |access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="eluniversal1">{{cite news|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 |newspaper=El Universal |access-date=18 October 2015}}</ref><br />'''*''' [[Express kidnapping]]s may not be included in data]]
During the 1980s and 1990s there was a steady increase in crime in Latin America. The countries of Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Brazil all had homicide rates above the regional average.<ref>Reid, Michael.''Forgotten continent: the battle for Latin America's soul'', p. 248. Yale, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0-300-11616-0}}</ref> During Chávez's terms as president, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans were murdered due to violent crimes occurring in the country.<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 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110235719/http://fusion.net/leadership/story/venezuela-violent-iraq-365361 |archive-date=10 January 2014 }}</ref> Gareth A. Jones and Dennis Rodgers stated in their book ''Youth violence in Latin America: Gangs and Juvenile Justice in Perspective'' that, "With the change of political regime in 1999 and the initiation of the [[Bolivarian Revolution]], a period of transformation and political conflict began, marked by a further increase in the number and rate of violent deaths" showing that in four years, the murder rate had increased to 44 per 100,000 people.<ref name=YOUTHviolence>{{cite book | url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230101333 |last1=Jones |first1=Gareth A. |last2=Rodgers | first2=Dennis |title=Youth violence in Latin America: gangs and juvenile justice in perspective |date=2008 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |location=Basingstoke |isbn=9780230600560 |pages=84–85 |edition=1st|doi=10.1057/9780230101333 }}</ref> Kidnappings also rose tremendously during Chávez's tenure, with the number of kidnappings over 20 times higher in 2011 than when Chavez was elected.<ref name="oas.org"/><ref name="CICPC2009"/><ref name="eluniversal1"/> Documentary filmmaker [[James Brabazon]], stated "kidnapping crimes had skyrocketed ... after late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez freed thousands of violent prisoners as part of controversial criminal justice system reforms" while kidnappings and murders also increased due to Colombian organized crime activity as well.<ref name=NAnov2013>{{cite news|title=Welcome to Venezuela, the kidnap capital of the world|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/south-america/welcome-to-venezuela-the-kidnap-capital-of-the-world/story-fnh81jzo-1226758654049|access-date=11 December 2014|agency=[[News.com.au]]|date=13 November 2013|work=news.com.au|archive-date=13 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213042708/http://www.news.com.au/world/south-america/welcome-to-venezuela-the-kidnap-capital-of-the-world/story-fnh81jzo-1226758654049|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=INDoct2013>{{cite news|last1=Brabazon|first1=James|title=Taking no prisoners in the kidnap capital of the world: On the streets of Caracas with an elite police squad|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/taking-no-prisoners-in-the-kidnap-capital-of-the-world-on-the-streets-of-caracas-with-an-elite-police-squad-8872390.html|access-date=11 December 2014|agency=The Independent|date=10 October 2013|location=London}}</ref> He further explained that common criminals felt that the Venezuelan government did not care for the problems of the higher and middle classes, which in turn gave them a sense of impunity that created a large business of kidnapping-for-ransom.<ref name=NAnov2013/>

Under Chávez's administration, crimes were so prevalent that by 2007 the government no longer produced 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|newspaper=Bloomberg L.P.|date=10 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 |archive-date=27 January 2014}}</ref> Homicide rates in Venezuela more than tripled, with one NGO finding the rate to have nearly quadrupled. The majority of the deaths occur in crowded slums in Caracas.<ref name='Chávez defends his record on crime in Venezuela'>{{Cite news| first = Enrique Andres | last = Pretel | title = Chavez defends his record on crime in Venezuela | date = 2 September 2010 | url = https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100903/wl_nm/us_venezuela_crime_1 | agency = Reuters | access-date =10 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916213105/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100903/wl_nm/us_venezuela_crime_1 |archive-date=16 September 2010 }}</ref><ref name='Venezuela murder-rate quadrupled under Chávez: NGO'>{{Cite news| title = Venezuela murder-rate quadrupled under Chávez: NGO | date = 11 March 2010 | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62A44A20100311 | work = Reuters | access-date =10 September 2010}}</ref> The NGO found that the number of homicides in the country increased from 6,000 in 1999 to 24,763 in 2013.{{sfn|Holland|2008}}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}<ref name="Globe Crime">{{cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2012/03/27/chavez_criticizes_us_take_on_crime_in_venezuela/|title=Chavez criticizes US take on crime in Venezuela|date=27 March 2012|newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=16 May 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217062938/http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2012/03/27/chavez_criticizes_us_take_on_crime_in_venezuela/?camp=pm|archive-date=17 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuela's Homicide Rate Quadruples in Fifteen Years, NGO Reports|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/26/venezuela-homicide-rate_n_4506363.html|access-date=21 April 2014|newspaper=HuffPost|date=26 December 2014}}</ref> In 2010 Caracas had the highest murder rate in the world,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/08/25/en_pol_esp_caracas-has-become-t_25A4380891.shtml |title=Caracas has become the deadliest city in the world |date=25 August 2010 |work=[[El Universal (Caracas)|El Universal]] |last=Ramírez Miranda |first=Deivis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828130358/http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/08/25/en_pol_esp_caracas-has-become-t_25A4380891.shtml |archive-date=28 August 2010}}
* {{cite news |url=http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=101723908 |title=Venezuelans protest rampant violence, some liken bloodshed to 'undeclared war' |last=James |first=Ian |agency=Associated Press |publisher=startribune.com |date=28 August 2010 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118040443/http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=101723908 |archive-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/venezuelans-despair-over-rampant-deadly-violence-101380809/124443.html |title=Venezuelans Despair Over Rampant, Deadly Violence |last=Bowman |first=Michael |date=24 August 2010 |publisher=[[Voice of America]] |access-date=28 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827052234/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Venezuelans-Despair-Over-Rampant-Deadly-Violence-101380809.html |archive-date=27 August 2010 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?_r=1 |title=Venezuela, More Deadly Than Iraq, Wonders Why |work=The New York Times |last=Romero |first=Simon |date=22 August 2010 }}</ref> having more deaths than [[Baghdad]] during the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 August 2010 |title=Los muertos que esconde Chávez |url=https://www.larazon.es/historico/1978-los-muertos-que-esconde-chavez-NLLA_RAZON_304563/ |access-date=23 April 2023 |website=[[La Razón (Madrid)|La Razón]] |language=es}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]], in 2012 there were 13,080 murders in Venezuela.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/Homicide_statistics2012.xls |title=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – Murder rates (most recent year) – spreadsheet |access-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309231127/http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/Homicide_statistics2012.xls |archive-date=9 March 2013}}</ref>

In leaked government INE data for kidnappings in the year 2009, the number of kidnappings were at an estimated 16,917, contrasting the CICPCs number of only 673,<ref name=CICPC2009/> before the Venezuelan government blocked the data.<ref name=INDoct2013/><ref>{{cite news|title=En el 2009 se cometieron más de 16.000 secuestros en Venezuela, según el gobierno local LOCAL|url=http://www.abc.com.py/articulos/en-el-2009-se-cometieron-mas-de-16000-secuestros-en-venezuela-segun-el-gobierno-local-150064.html|access-date=6 January 2015|agency=Noticias24|publisher=ABC Color|date=22 August 2010}}</ref><ref name=PRENSA2009>{{cite news|title=Hubo 16,917 secuestros en 2009 en Venezuela|url=http://www.laprensa.hn/mundo/489228-97/hubo-16917-secuestros-en-2009-en-venezuela|access-date=6 January 2015|agency=La Prensa|date=23 August 2010}}</ref> According to the leaked INE report, only 1,332 investigations for kidnappings were opened or about 7% of the total kidnapping cases, with 90% of the kidnappings happening away from rural areas, 80% of all being express kidnappings and the most common victim being lower-middle or middle class Venezuelans and middle-aged men.<ref name=PRENSA2009/> Also in 2009, it was reported that Venezuelan authorities would assign judicial police to Caracas area morgues to speak with families.<ref name=EMaug2010>{{cite news|title=Venezuela favorece a los familiares de fallecidos que no informan a la prensa|url=http://www.elmundo.es/america/2010/08/22/venezuela/1282502008.html|access-date=6 January 2015|agency=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]|date=22 August 2010}}</ref> At that time, they would advise families not to report the murder of their family member to the media in exchange for expediting the process of releasing the victim's body.<ref name=EMaug2010/>

In September 2010, responding to escalating crime rates in the country, Chávez stated that Venezuela was no more violent than it was when he first took office.<ref name="Chávez Defends Record on Crime">{{Cite news| first = Enrique Andres | last = Pretel | title = Chávez defends his record on crime in Venezuela | date = 2 September 2010 | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68201520100903 | work = Reuters | access-date =10 September 2010}}</ref> An [[International Crisis Group]] report that same year stated that when Chávez took office, there were some factors beyond his control that led to the crime epidemic throughout Venezuela, but that Chávez ignored it as well as corruption in the country; especially among fellow state officials. The report also stated that international organised crime filters between Colombia and Venezuela with assistance from "the highest spheres of government" in Venezuela, leading to higher rates of kidnapping, drug trafficking, and homicides. Chávez supporters stated that the [[Venezuelan National Police|Bolivarian National Police]] had reduced crime and also said that the states with the highest murder rates were controlled by the opposition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/violence-venezuela |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111003632/http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/violence-venezuela |archive-date=11 November 2013 |title=Violence in Venezuela |work=The Stream |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=6 August 2011 |access-date=14 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Stream – Violence in Venezuela|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTTvZcuaJQQ| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211132729/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTTvZcuaJQQ| archive-date=11 December 2013 | url-status=dead|via=YouTube|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref>

====Prisons====
During Chávez's presidency, there were reports of prisoners having easy access to firearms, drugs, and alcohol. Carlos Nieto, head of Window to Freedom, alleged that heads of gangs acquire military weapons from the state, saying: "They have the types of weapons that can only be obtained by the country's armed forces. ... No one else has these." Use of internet and mobile phones were also commonplace, allowing criminals to take part in street crime while in prison. One prisoner explained how, "if the guards mess with us, we shoot them" and that he had "seen a man have his head cut off and people play [[association football|football]] with it".<ref>{{cite news|last=Gupta|first=Girish|title=In Venezuela's prisons, inmates are the wardens|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/venezuela/120511/inside-violent-venezuelan-prison-la-planta|access-date=20 April 2014|newspaper=Global Post|date=14 May 2012}}</ref>

Edgardo Lander, a sociologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela with a PhD in sociology from Harvard University, explained that Venezuelan prisons were "practically a school for criminals" since young inmates come out "trained and hardened" compared to before their incarceration. He also explained that prisons are controlled by gangs and that "very little has been done" to restrain their activities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jay|first=Paul|title=The Modern History of Venezuela, Why Still So Much Crime? – Edgardo Lander on Reality Asserts Itself (7/9)|url=http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11760|access-date=20 April 2014|newspaper=The Real News|date=19 April 2014|archive-date=20 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420034230/http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11760|url-status=dead}}</ref>