Venezuela’s Soaring Murder Rate Blamed on Too Many Guns

Of course it could be too many government executions ...

Venezuela could close out the year with more than 18,000 murders, a scourge that is increasing and the solution to which, in the opinion of analysts, includes the disarmament of the civilian population.

It is calculated that in this country there are between 9 million and 15 million weapons in the hands of the public, the president of the Institute for Investigations of Coexistence and Citizen Security, or INCOSEC, Pedro Rangel, told Efe in an interview, drawing his figures from data from a congressional committee.

And who exactly is "the media in Venezuela? It's the government.

The media has determined that the average Venezuelan household has three weapons, something that is “completely out of proportion” in Rangel’s judgment since “the possession of weapons on the part of the civilian population notably influences the violence in the streets.”

INCOSEC figures gathered in the Caracas metropolitan area during the first half of 2009 show that 98 percent of the murders were committed with firearms and 60 percent of the bodies had been hit by more than five bullets.

This shows “exacerbated levels of violence,” Rangel said, noting that 36 percent of the victims were males between the ages of 15 and 29.

As times get tough for Chavez's shuck and jive act, the guns have got to be taken out of the people's hands, else they may become revolutionaries themselves.

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