In Venezuela, Lynchings Are on the Rise
Venezuelans explain in their own words why this is happening.
Venezuela has made international headlines for the many woes the country is experiencing: an economic crisis, a political crisis, a security crisis, an energy crisis. Scenes of empty supermarket aisles, long lines of shoppers, and hospitals without supplies have become common. But one thing that has been reported less in the foreign press is truly chilling: a growing wave of lynchings.
Venezuela has one of the world’s highest homicide rates, as well as large numbers of muggings and robberies. Yet 98 percent of crimes go unsolved. And with insecurity growing, some civilians are taking matters into their own hands.
From 2001 to 2011, between 6 to 25 lynchings took place annually. But last year, at least 38 lynchings took place, and this year, as of April 7, 29 lynchings occurred, reports Tal Cual.
Rodrigo Linares wrote about the phenomenon in November on Caracas Chronicles:
“Videos showing extreme brutality are shared constantly over social media…all kinds of things are used as weapons: Baseball bats, motorcycle helmets, chains, whatever is at hand. Blood starts gushing out of the victimizers-turned-victims. Bodies are dragged around. Bodies are tied to light poles. Guns appear and then, as abruptly as it started, makeshift savage footage ends, leaving you wondering if they really gunned the guy. Whether they really lit him on fire. The story always starts and ends the same way. A scourge is overpowered. Crime is squared with crime…
…you know that courts are rigged, that justice is served to the highest bidder, that judges flee under pressure, that prosecutors knowingly jail innocent men, that prisons are operated by kingpins, some benevolent some cruel, all beyond the reaches of the state.”
Caracas city councilman Jesús Armas told Americas Quarterly this month about the current environment in Venezuela's capital:
“This year will without a doubt be the most violent in the history of our city; without justice, without a state, people become like werewolves. And now it is not just about the criminal groups, but also about everyday citizens lynching criminals and the total dehumanization of the city. We know that this is a temporary period, with very serious consequences, but that in a few years we will look back with shame. We will know we were able to overcome this situation because the country understood that the only way forward is through solidarity, unity of the nation and entrepreneurship.”
Also this month, Manuel Llorens wrote about his experience witnessing a lynching for Caracas Chronicles:
“Lynchings have doubled and are a symptom of loss of civility, but they have also become more complex. Their newfound visibility comes from the fact that they have migrated from the poorer communities to middle and upper class neighborhoods…
Lynchings have installed themselves in our fantasyscape. National surveys show that large majorities condone them as a response to certain types of crimes, such as rape. They’ve become part of our cultural repertoire.”
A witness of a 2015 Caracas lynching told Efecto Cocuyo:
“I don't know, but I am in favor. If the police don't act, what do we do? One gets tired of being a victim and has to be as unfeeling as they are. Why forgive those sons of bitches that kill for a cell phone? Around here they even rob little old ladies that go out at 5 in the morning to buy vegetables. And that's not fair.” [translation]
One case that's become emblematic is that of Roberto Fuentes, who was attacked by a mob earlier this month in a middle-class Caracas neighborhood. Accused of being a thief, he was set on fire, and died a few days later. As it turned out, he wasn't a criminal — he had been trying to help an old man who'd just been mugged. He was a chef and a father of four.
Aglaia Berlutti, a Caracas-based writer and photographer, wrote about a lynching she witnessed several days ago in Caracas and the rise in these types of crimes.
“'In los Ruices, there is at least one daily lynching,' my friend R., an administrator and lawyer, tells me when I visited her a few days ago. 'No one says anything; it’s no longer news. But it happens. And what causes more fear is that it’s already an everyday thing. No one dares intervene…
It just happens: someone yells, pointing to a ‘thief’ and suddenly, people emerge from where you least expect with boards and stones in their hands. It seems almost cartoonish until you realize they want to kill,' my friend tells me. 'It’s not just a threat, but a catharsis. And nobody cares. Nobody is going to stop an angry mob and much less if they tacitly support it.'” [translation]
