Pirates have returned to the Caribbean — specifically, near the shores of Venezuela, according to The Washington Post. Since 2016, there have been reports of piracy near Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, and St. Lucia. But none of those increased activities are as high as they are off of the Venezuelan coast, where observers say pirates are often directly involved with corrupt officials.

Jeremy McDermott, codirector of Insight Crime, a nonprofit organization that studies organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, told The Washington Post, “It’s criminal chaos, a free-for-all, along the Venezuelan coast.”

Since the 2013 election of Nicolás Maduro as president, Venezuela’s economy has continued to deteriorate. The Washington Post reported that “lower oil prices, corruption and a socialist system plagued with mismanagement” are to blame for the country’s troubles — with malnutrition spreading, water and power grids failing, and police and military abandoning their posts due to lack of pay.

As a result of this economic crisis, desperation and frustration have led to a surge in violence, (including, as CNN reported, an apparent assassination attempt on President Maduro). The crisis has also seemingly led to this rise in Caribbean piracy — which is very different from what is depicted in the Hollywood movies with a similar name.

In April, four boats were taken over by pirates off the coast of Guyana, which borders Venezuela on South America's northeastern shore. Reuters reported that crewmembers were attacked, burned, and forced overboard. Of the 20 victims, 5 survived.

A report by the recently decommissioned nonprofit program Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) found that in 2017, there were 71 major pirate attacks in the South American region — up 163% from the previous year. Most of those attacks happened in Caribbean waters, and according to OBP, stolen belongings and equipment reported by crews in the Caribbean and Latin America were estimated to have totaled nearly $1 million in 2017.

“This reminds me of how the problems started off the coast of eastern Africa,” Roodal Moonilal told The Washington Post, referring to a similar spike in piracy off the coast of Somalia. Moonilal is a lawmaker from the opposition United National Congress party in Trinidad and Tobago, which is just offshore from Venezuela. “What we’re seeing — the piracy, the smuggling — it’s the result of Venezuela’s political and economic collapse.”

According to The Telegraph, there is concern that if the Venezuelan crisis gets worse, these pirate attacks may spread as pirates decide to go further out to sea. Already, luxury yachts have come under attack in the area.

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