Venezuela's police have become a law unto themselves

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by Rory Carroll in Caracas



Police out on patrol in the slum of Petare, one of the most dangerous areas in the world. Crime is rife and so are violent deaths, despite government crackdowns. Photograph: Manca Juvan/Corbis

Police across Latin America have a reputation for brutality, a result of poorly trained, poorly paid forces with free rein to tackle drug gang mayhem.

In Venezuela, police violence – and corruption – has reached extremes. Recently, the justice minister, Tarek El-Aissami, said 20% of all crime was committed by police, a startling admission. The public have little confidence in the force. In one poll, 70% said "police and criminals are practically the same". There are daily killings. Between January 2008 and March 2009, police were implicated in 755 "homicide cases". With some cases including multiple killings, the number of dead is likely to be significantly higher. In the first three months of 2009, there were 155 cases.

Human rights group estimate that during the past decade there has been an average of 900 killings a year. "Extra-judicial executions are extremely widespread. It's a habitual practice," said Pablo Fernandez, of the Support Network for Justice and Peace, an advocacy group that tracks human rights abuses.

Venezuela's capital, dominated by a chaotic sprawl of hillside slums, has become the second most violent city in Latin America, after San Salvador.

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Deadly force: Venezuela's police have become a law unto themselves | World news | The Guardian