Gangs Assault Police Stations in Caracas

Since the beginning of the year, criminal activity in Caracas has risen to a new level.
Gangs Assault Police Stations in Caracas
Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami has said there will be an investigation into possible 'police misconduct' surrounding the assault by a criminal gang on Nueva Tacagua Metropolitan Police Station on March 21. He is seen here on Jan. 11 presenting a U.S.-registered light aircraft seized during anti-drug operations in Jan. 2010. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)
3/23/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/Venezuelan-Interior-Minister-Tareck-El-Aissami95689148.jpg" alt="Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami has said there will be an investigation into possible 'police misconduct' surrounding the assault by a criminal gang on Nueva Tacagua Metropolitan Police Station on March 21. He is seen here on Jan. 11 presenting a U.S.-registered light aircraft seized during anti-drug operations in Jan. 2010.  (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami has said there will be an investigation into possible 'police misconduct' surrounding the assault by a criminal gang on Nueva Tacagua Metropolitan Police Station on March 21. He is seen here on Jan. 11 presenting a U.S.-registered light aircraft seized during anti-drug operations in Jan. 2010.  (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1821800"/></a>
Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami has said there will be an investigation into possible 'police misconduct' surrounding the assault by a criminal gang on Nueva Tacagua Metropolitan Police Station on March 21. He is seen here on Jan. 11 presenting a U.S.-registered light aircraft seized during anti-drug operations in Jan. 2010.  (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)
CARACAS, Venezuela—Since the beginning of the year, criminal activity in Caracas has risen to a new level. Criminal gangs have now begun assaulting police stations, killing policemen, and stealing their weaponry, in order to enforce their criminal activities throughout the city. Last weekend, up to 51 people were fatally shot by gangs, according to Globovisión TV.

One of the most significant and dramatic police station assaults happened last Sunday, March 21, when a group of criminals, riding 16 motorcycles and driving a truck, assaulted the Nueva Tacagua Metropolitan Police Station. According to a public statement from the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs, the criminal gang stole 16 automatic pistols, 29 revolvers, several Heckler & Koch submachine guns, and a batch of tear gas bombs.

Metropolitan Police Chief Carlos Meza, and personnel from CICPC (the scientific and criminal investigations police), are now investigating the incident.

Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, Tareck el Aissami, said at a press conference on Monday, that the Nueva Tacagua robbery was due to “police misconduct.”

“There are already two investigations, a criminal one and an administrative one, because we assume that there was police misconduct, since the number of policemen there at the time of the event was not the number that would be expected. That’s why we must assume this—just like we have done with other police—that there was misconduct,” said Aissami.

Some victims of the robbery had also said that the robbers were using police jargon when communicating with them, and among themselves.

A few hours after Aissami announced that the police force was being investigated, the metropolitan police announced that they had found the alleged criminals along with the weapons cache after conducting a successful sting operation in which officers posed as weapons buyers. Fourteen suspects were reportedly detained.

Concern among Caracas residents has been rising over the last couple of months, particularly now that police stations are being robbed, and more and more guns are falling into the hands of criminals. There is a growing feeling of insecurity that if the police cannot protect themselves, who is left to protect average citizens.