Caracas has now the world's highest murder rate. According to official figures reported by a survey on victimization carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the Venezuelan capital has become the deadliest city in the world. A total of 7,676 people were killed in the Metropolitan Area of Caracas in 2009, that is, about one murder every hour and a half.

According to this survey, the murder rate in the Venezuelan capital was 233 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Last year, based on a study carried out in 2009 by the Mexican NGOs Citizen's Council for Public Security (CCSP) and the White Movement, Caracas had 94 murders per 100,000 inhabitants and ranked fourth in the world.

The results of the survey carried out by INE, which was requested by Venezuela's Vice Presidency, shows that Caracas had 233 murders per 100,000 inhabitants instead of the 94 murders per 100,000 inhabitants reported by the Mexican NGOs, that is, a difference of 139 crimes.

According to the survey carried out by INE, 5,878 homicides out of the total (7,676 cases) were reported in 2009. Meanwhile, in 1,891 cases no complaints were filed in any state security body, that is, although in those cases an investigation was initiated by the enforcement agencies, the relatives did not formalize a complaint.

Comparative figures
The Mexican security watchdogs ranked the deadliest cities in the word earlier this year.

According to the study, Mexico's border city of Ciudad Juárez has the world's highest murder rate: 191 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

San Pedro Sula (Honduras) ranked second with 119 murders per 100,000 inhabitants; San Salvador (El Salvador), had 95 murders; Caracas (94) and Guatemala (Guatemala) had 86 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

The figures released by the National Statistics Institute show that reality has changed.

The survey was made between August 16 and November 16, 2009. A total of 20,055 households were surveyed throughout the country.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas