A gang culture of impunity and stricter gun control has led to off-duty police officers being killed for their weapons, motorbikes and even mobile phones

Not even the police are safe in Venezuela. In a country which saw 24,000 murders recorded in 2013 and whose capital city Caracas was runner-up for murder capital of the world, 252 security officers have been killed in the country from January until October this year, in most cases simply because they were carrying something valuable – a gun.

Pulvio Lisandro Toledo, 43, was one of them. On 1 September, after 18 years in the force, Toledo was on his police issue motorbike heading home when two individuals riding another motorcycle shot him. As he fell to the ground wounded, they searched his pockets; not finding his mandatory police weapon, they proceeded to shoot him fatally several more times. He left two young children behind.



In any other country Toledo’s case would have stood out, as he was not killed in the line of duty, but on his way home. Not in Venezuela, where he was just one of 252. “Before 2005, most police officers died in the line of duty. But nowadays, 65% of crimes against officers are motorcycle and weapon theft,” explains Jackeline Sandoval, head of Fundación Debido Proceso, an NGO that promotes the rule of law and human rights across Latin America.

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When President Maduro launched a disarmament plan in 2014, and security forces were also ordered to destroy weapons seized during the police operations, the government’s intention was to reduce violence by making it harder for people to obtain guns. His predecessor had already made private gun ownership illegal in 2012.

But these actions have only increased interest in the people allowed to carry weapons. “There are now fewer deals in black market arms but that has made anyone in uniform a more popular target for criminals than before,” says Eliseo Guzmán, the general commissioner of the Miranda state police force. “They will identify a police officer and take away his life just to take his gun.”

Chief commissioner Francisco Escalona, Guzman’s deputy, oversees the Venezuelan state with the highest murder rate per capita. 1,359 violent deaths have been recorded in Miranda already this year. He agrees the disarmament plan has increased interest in the weapons police carry, explaining how the only authority allowed to sell firearms is Compañía Anónima Venezolana de Industrias Militares, an agency run by the state.



“This year we already have five deceased officers. The criminal’s goal is to get hold of the gun and bike. Gangs know servicemen, bodyguards and police officers are the only people allowed to carry weapons, therefore, they go after them. They identify them quickly by the model of bike we use.”



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Escalona says his force have taken measures to protect their colleagues, such as increasing the number of men in patrol cars but as most police are targeted out of hours there’s a limit to what they can do.

It’s not just a desire for weapons that’s fuelling police murders in Venezuela though, but that gangs know it’s unlikely they’ll ever be prosecuted for the deaths, explains Javier Gorriño, a criminologist and former police officer. “Ten years ago, killing a cop was hampón – thug suicide,” he says. “Not now.”

As today only 18% of people arrested in Venezuela end up in prison, Gorriño describes a culture of impunity that encourages young gang members to take risks they would not have done previously to improve their reputation in a gang.



“In a Venezuelan cartel, respect is the criminal equivalent of a resume in civilian life,” says Gorriño. Members can build a decent “résumé” with their “doll number”, a criminal slang term for deceased people under their belt, he explains, “but if among your dolls you have a police officer, that gives you more prestige, because murdering a cop is killing your natural enemy.”

Guzmán agrees gangs act with impunity in Venezuela. “Our figures show that six in ten prisoners go free a few days after being arrested for committing a crime by order of the court system – so they no longer fear being trapped.”

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His police force currently has 1,600 active agents. But his colleague Escalona says ideally they need 6,000 to police the area sufficiently. 100 new police academy cadets will begin their duty in 2016, but Escalona is concerned by the quality of new officers coming into the force and whether they will be corrupted. “Many of the aspirants are not righteous people. And those who are are stopped by the low wages.”

In the last 16 years, the government tried to stem wider violence in the country with 23 different security plans, ranging from the military going out on patrol in cities to create a sense of security to the police carrying out mass arrests in barrios. But violence continues to gain ground across Venezuela, and as long as there’s a gun and munitions shortage and impunity for those who kill police officers, police officers like Toledo will remain the target of gangs.

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