The second-in-command of the Chavismo movement stated that authorities review “weekly crime rates” and that there has only been an increase in cybercrime.
Venezuela’s Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, asserted on Saturday that his country is the safest in the Americas, with “less than three crimes per 100,000 inhabitants.”
“I am going to say this with full and absolute responsibility, there is not a single country in America that has better security rates than Venezuela, there isn’t,” he said during an event in the island state of Nueva Esparta, broadcast on state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
The number two figure in Chavismo stated that authorities review “crime rates every week” and that the only increase has been in the area of cybercrime.
Cabello reported an increase in applications to enter the National Experimental University of Security (UNES), which, in his view, demonstrates that the Venezuelan people “are not afraid” despite “what happened” in the country.
On January 3, U.S. Forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a series of raids in Caracas and three surrounding regions, after which then-Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of acting president.
Deployment of Military and Police
On Thursday, the deployment of a total of 228,028 military and police personnel, as well as other state officials, began throughout the country as part of a security plan for Carnival celebrations, which started on Saturday and will conclude on Tuesday, according to Cabello.
This represents a 19.7% increase compared to the 2025 operation, when 190,495 personnel were mobilized, authorities said at the time.
