The Issue of High Crime Rates in Venezuela

“Do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, kidnapping, and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.” (National Travel Advisory) Venezuela is known to have the highest crime rate in the world, and for years it has been considered one of the most violent and deadly counties in the world. Specifically, homicides, kidnapping, and robbery, including carjacking, street robbery, and home invasion. (Venezuela 2019 Crime & Safety Report) Hearing this, people are fast to assume and judge the people of Venezuela. The crime statistics are what set the bar for judgement, but what people don’t ask immediately is why the crime is so high, therefore crime is a single story of Venezuela. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). In 1950, Venezuela had fourth richest GDP per capita in the world. The rest of the world was struggling to recover from World War II, which put Venezuela at the top of the economy. Venezuela is also home to the world's largest oil reserves. Despite their successful history, today 90 percent of Venezuelans are living in poverty. This downfall mainly occurred all within the past decade. Venezuela has the highest crime rate in the world, possibly from the presidency of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, hyperinflation, and lack of police enforcement.

Hugo Chávez was elected as president in 1998, and with the successful oil industry, his socialist government was able to successfully implement its plan to provide subsidized goods and services to the Venezuelan people. However, the vital oil industry became the foundation for Venezuela's economy, and the country had neglected to maintain its oil facilities, resulting in production rates dropping to a 13-year low. Mistakes in the government had built up over the years, causing mass debt and hyperinflation. Government debt increased from less than 30 percent of GDP to around 70 percent. Chávez died from cancer in 2013, and Nicolás Maduro assumed presidency in his place. Maduro attempted to address the economic crisis left by Chávez by printing more money. This policy resulted in inflation which made basic goods unaffordable to the public, so Maduro instituted price controls and fixed the exchange rate. This caused shortages and made many imports prohibitively expensive.

Businesses shut down. Food and medicine became scarce. (Fisher, Max. New York Times) As resources grew increasingly scant, Maduro instructed the military to block aid deliveries from the U.S. and others. In addition, Maduro ordered all crossings along the Brazil border closed. Maduro defended his decision to prevent aid from entering the country by proclaiming that Venezuelans are not “beggars.” In 2014, as if things weren’t already in a bad position, the oil prices started to plunge. Oil was not only Venezuela’s primary industry but almost its entire revenue. Over 95% of Venezuela's revenue is from its exports, which lead to a rapid economic decline when the prices fell. The country had neglected to maintain its oil facilities, resulting in production rates dropping to a 13-year low. Without a strong income the country could no longer maintain basic infrastructure, leading to a series of country-wide blackouts in March 2019 that left millions without power. (Global Conflict Tracker, 2019)

In 2014, Venezuela’s Central Bank confirmed on December 30 that the country had entered a recession due to plummeting oil prices. The inflation rate that year surpassed 63 percent, the highest in the Americas. Manduros actions to print more money resulted in hyperinflation (the International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation could hit 10 million percent in 2019). The currency value is also at an all time low, in 2014, one dollar equaled 100 bolivars, now a dollar is worth 248,567 bolivars. The inflation forced the government to make cuts in public spending, which made it difficult for Venezuelans to purchase food and medicine. Desperation for money to afford basic needs was growing. Alejandro Rebolledo, a former Venezuela Supreme Court Justice and money laundering expert currently living in exile, said “criminals have found the country to be a safe haven for smuggling food and medicine, counterfeiting medicines and spare vehicle parts, as well as for drug trafficking, illegal mining, kidnappings and extortions. Payments for all these [activities] are in dollars.”

These actions sent many Venezuelans into poverty and many became involved in gangs. As an effect of the sociopolitical and humanitarian crisis, the impoverished are resorting to crime as a means of survival. Between 2015 and 2016 the average Venezuelan lost 19 pounds, due to the food shortages. People became desperate and public order was collapsing and crime was rising. More than 4 million people have fled Venezuela leaving all their belongings, family, and even children behind. Those who stayed in Venezuela turned to black marketing, and gangs ruled the streets. The murder rate spiked to be one of the highest in the world. On top of crime, common sicknesses were fatal from the lack of medicine and doctors. More than 15,000 doctors have fled the country and there is a shortage of around 85 percent of all medicines. The countries police forces were also struggling to feed their families and turned to crime. Police to attempt to control the crime, but they are unable to provide coverage and regulate the mass crime happening all over the country. The poorer areas of the capital, Caracas, are even more dangerous at night. Police response to crime is slow for most crimes; they often don’t arrive until several hours after the incident. The corruption and inadequate police training dramatically reduce the effectiveness of police forces.

The significant crime rates in Venezuela are primarily due to mistakes made by Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, hyperinflation, and inadequacy of police forces. Venezuela’s dangerous reputation is a result of poverty and poor government decisions. Assumptions of the people of Venezuela are controlled by single stories. However, Venezuela’s crime rate is not the people’s fault; the people resort to crime to survive and provide for their families. Single stories are stereotypes that are incomplete and don’t represent the full story.