Cracking the Problems in Caracas

Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, is the crime capital of the world. It is situated on the North coast of the South American nation, and there are 119.87 murders per 100,000 people. In this blog, I will examine just why Caracas has such a ridiculous murder and crime rate.

http://www.worldatlas.com/img/locator/city/092/23092-caracas-locator-map.jpg

Population Density
Caracas is home to roughly 3.3million people and has a population density of 4212.9 people per km². This is actually less than Dublin's, which is 4588. But despite this, about 70% of Caracas' population live in slums, and the poverty nourishes crime. In fact, the highest slum in the world is in Caracas, the 47-story Tower of David.

The Tower of David - http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/251/611/3/S2516113/slug/l/161481385-1.jpg



Economy
Venezuela's economy is heavily dependent on the oil industry. For years they have profited from rising oil prices, but a recent plummet in prices has severely affected the country. There has been ridiculous inflation in the country of 720%, according to the IMF, and as a result money is almost utterly worthless. There are also food shortages across the nation. With so little wealth available, people turn to theft and other crimes to seize wealth.

Organised Crime
Many of the drugs produced in Columbia travel through Venezuela before reaching their final destination in the US. But, the real problem is the street gangs of the slums, such as El Cementerio and Los Pelucos. Small feuds here, can lead to massive shootouts that last months between rival gangs. This contributes heavily to Caracas' murder rate of 140 per 100,000. With all of the many gangs pushing for territory, it creates a lethal environment with no escape for easily influenced youths.

Overall the poverty, collapsing economy and of course the deadly gang warfare, makes easily the most crime-ridden city in the world.