Page 13 - Preliminary Report on the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Crisis in the Region

Moreover, as has been the case at other times in history, generalized violence in a country is a

significant factor in mass migrations. Our conclusion is that this may also be the case of

Venezuela, where there has been a gradual increase in homicide rates, general criminality, and

impunity, to the extent of disrupting public order throughout the country.

According to a Gallup study, Venezuela is the most unsafe country in the world. The study

found that 42 percent of Venezuelans reported having had property or money stolen in 2017;
only 17 percent of Venezuelans felt safe walking alone at night and just 24 percent expressed

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confidence in the police.

According to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory there

…a total of 23,047
were a total of 23,047 homicides in Venezuela in 2018,
homicides in Venezuela in
2018, which corresponds which corresponds to a homicide rate of 81.4 per 100,000
to a homicide rate of 81.4 inhabitants. That rate is the highest in the region and one of
per 100,000 inhabitants. 27
the highest worldwide. Moreover, according to the same
NGO, the number of homicides increased from over 5,000 in 1999 to 23,000 in 2018. In all,

there have been 333,039 recorded murders since 1999, of which 130,997 were registered

between 2014 and 2018 (see Figure 1).

26 Ray, Julie. Peace, Security Still Out of Reach for Many Worldwide, Gallup News, June 2018
https://bit.ly/2mmKUGB.
27 Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia. “Informe OVV de Violencia 2018,” December 2018
https://observatoriodeviolencia.org.ve/category/informes/.

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