The Ramos Kidnapping and Violence in Latin America
The surge of crime throughout Latin America has crashed into the United States’ consciousness with the recently thwarted abduction of baseball star Wilson Ramos, which rocked the American sports world. The young, talented multi-millionaire catcher for the Washington Nationals had been playing in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League this offseason when he was seized by armed captors and taken from his home on November 9, 2011.
This incident, extensively covered by the international media due to the player’s fame and popularity in the U.S., drives home a critical point: it is necessary to fathom the disturbing crest of violence to be found today in every corner of Latin America. Kidnapping and murder rates throughout the region, and in Venezuela particularly, have expanded meteorically. Perhaps the incident will now inform a once unaware populace that crime rates can be expected to surge south of U.S. borders and motivate all concerned to unearth the causes of such violence.
This analysis was prepared by COHA Director Larry Birns and COHA Research Associate Zac Deibel.
To read the full analysis, click here.
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