Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Kidnapped in Caracas

The sprawling South American city of Caracas has been well known to present its fair share of dangers. The Venezuelan capital city of over 6 million people has become a playground for kidnappers. A string of recent high profile cases has made this more evident to the world.

The most recent event was the kidnapping of Costa Rican diplomat Guillermo Cholele. The Costa Rican embassy employee was kidnapped Sunday night (April 8th, 2012) by a group of armed gunmen. By Monday, a call had been made to Cholele family members for a ransom. His release was immediately negotiated and by Tuesday he was freed.

In January, Mexico's ambassador to Venezuela was kidnapped along with his wife in Caracas. Carlos Pujalte Pineiro and his wife here held for only four hours before being released in a nearby slum. Express kidnappings like this are common, and usually result in the theft of personal items and withdrawals from personal bank accounts.

Statistics for crime in Venezuela are often kept in secrecy. President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly attempted to downplay the seriousness of the crime rate. The Wall Street Journal reported that a leaked Venezuelan government document reported more than 16,700 kidnappings from July 2008 to July 2009. A local Venezuelan newspaper, El Carabobeño, reported 35 murders in Caracas between Wednesday and Sunday on Easter week alone. According to the nonprofit Venezuelan Violence Observatory, the nation posted a record number of homicides last year, with over 19,336 people murdered.

In November of 2011, a Chilean consul was shot and wounded during a kidnapping in Caracas. The consul was released and recovered from his injuries. This occurred prior to the incident in March that left the daughter of a Chilean consul dead after being shot by Venezuelan police. The victim was shot during a botched traffic stop in the western part of the country.

The highest profile case to be reported on by United States media was the kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in November of 2011. Wilson Ramos, who plays for the Washington Nationals, was kidnapped near his family home in Valencia. Ramos, who is a native of Venezuela, was playing winter baseball during the off-season. He was held for two days in nearby mountains before he was rescued by special forces in a shootout.

Many claim that Venezuela's rising crime rate is due to the stalled economy. The oil based economy has witnessed Latin America's worst inflation rate in recent years. President Chavez touts that the nation will soon emerge from the recession, but his personal handling of national assets and business has proved only detrimental.

-- K. Mennem

-- Visit http://www.hellonearthblog.com/ for more stories like this.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon

The sprawling South American city of Caracas has been well known to present its fair share of dangers. The Venezuelan capital city of over 6 million people has become a playground for kidnappers. A string of recent high profile cases has made this more evident to the world.

The most recent event was the kidnapping of Costa Rican diplomat Guillermo Cholele. The Costa Rican embassy employee was kidnapped Sunday night (April 8th, 2012) by a group of armed gunmen. By Monday, a call had been made to Cholele family members for a ransom. His release was immediately negotiated and by Tuesday he was freed.

In January, Mexico's ambassador to Venezuela was kidnapped along with his wife in Caracas. Carlos Pujalte Pineiro and his wife here held for only four hours before being released in a nearby slum. Express kidnappings like this are common, and usually result in the theft of personal items and withdrawals from personal bank accounts.

Statistics for crime in Venezuela are often kept in secrecy. President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly attempted to downplay the seriousness of the crime rate. The Wall Street Journal reported that a leaked Venezuelan government document reported more than 16,700 kidnappings from July 2008 to July 2009. A local Venezuelan newspaper, El Carabobeño, reported 35 murders in Caracas between Wednesday and Sunday on Easter week alone. According to the nonprofit Venezuelan Violence Observatory, the nation posted a record number of homicides last year, with over 19,336 people murdered.

In November of 2011, a Chilean consul was shot and wounded during a kidnapping in Caracas. The consul was released and recovered from his injuries. This occurred prior to the incident in March that left the daughter of a Chilean consul dead after being shot by Venezuelan police. The victim was shot during a botched traffic stop in the western part of the country.

The highest profile case to be reported on by United States media was the kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in November of 2011. Wilson Ramos, who plays for the Washington Nationals, was kidnapped near his family home in Valencia. Ramos, who is a native of Venezuela, was playing winter baseball during the off-season. He was held for two days in nearby mountains before he was rescued by special forces in a shootout.

Many claim that Venezuela's rising crime rate is due to the stalled economy. The oil based economy has witnessed Latin America's worst inflation rate in recent years. President Chavez touts that the nation will soon emerge from the recession, but his personal handling of national assets and business has proved only detrimental.

-- K. Mennem

-- Visit http://www.hellonearthblog.com/ for more stories like this.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Baja California homicides up as result of drug violence

Next Article

San Diego Venezuelans grateful to Trump

Drenched at Waterfront Park
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader