Reports of Kidnapping in Venezuela Nearly Double in 2016

The number of recorded kidnappings in Venezuela has increased by 88 percent over the last year, according to new figures, which help to quantify a security crisis that has all too often been obscured by the government's reluctance to release damning crime statistics. There were 411 reported kidnappings in Venezuela between January and the second week of September 2016, compared to 219 over the same period in 2015, according to police figures obtained by Runrunes. (See Runrunes graphic below) Of these victims, 375 were liberated in 2016, compared to 208 in 2015, while 18 were killed, compared to nine in 2015. More…