Venezuela: From Guns to Grenades

The unleashing of criminal activities in Venezuela was a strategy that Hugo Chavez used allowing the so called “Colectivos”, a group of criminals on motorcycles paid by the Chavez regime to tantalize and terrorize the Venezuelan people in the name of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Chavez armed those criminals first with Automatic weapons and Machine guns. Although Chavez is no longer around, Maduro, his successor has continued this policy of doing nothing against crime in Venezuela. Today the criminals use grenades to commit their crimes against police and citizens alike.

The number of people blown up is mounting in Venezuela, a country that "in 2014 has over 25,000 deaths resulting from the unbridled delinquency" supported directly or indirectly by the government.

The US State Department issued following warnings for Americans traveling to Venezuela “Violent crime is a serious problem, and the capital city of Caracas has one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the world. Kidnappings, assaults, and robberies occur throughout the country; no areas are safe.”

According to a Venezuelan source, the increased use of grenades is due to the fact that the grenades are small, compact and easy to conceal. They are easier to hide that an AK-47, but they are just as destructive and so far they have claimed many lives.  In the past two years, Venezuela has had more death caused by grenades that in any Latin American country. The criminals are seeking to establish control over territories, and because of the police presence is either weak or non-existent, they are able to operate freely.

Today is easier to buy grenades than food in Venezuela. The government controls the purchase of food which forces people to be in very long lines. It has done very little, or nothing, to control the proliferation of guns and grenades in Venezuela, leaving the people in a state of panic. The outcome is clear: large bands of criminals. There are about 10 criminal groups operating in different parts of the country. The criminals are determined and prepared to fight against the escalating resistance and pressure that the citizens are putting on the country’s security forces to fight the kidnapping, extortion, and murder rings operating in the country.

What started as a Chavez/Maduro regime tactic to terrorize the Venezuelan citizens has backfired, creating an uncontrollable situation that not even the government is able to contain. This “”Bolivarian Revolution” has not only weaken the economy of Venezuela, dismantled the infrastructure, and created rampant unrest, has also created one of the most dangerous countries in the world.