The murder of former Miss Venezuela, Monica Spear, who was killed on the road side with her ex-husband, has caused shock and outrage in the country as the nation reacts to the double murder.
Stafania Fernandez, the 2009 Miss Universe, took to Twitter to express her feelings about the murders: “How many more murders in my country?” she wrote along with the hashtag #NoMasViolenciaVenezuela (No more violence, Venezuela.)
The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, also reacted to the road side murder promising to use an “iron fist against all those who want to keep slaughtering our people.” He then held a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace to review the nation’s security plan .
Many people are remaining skeptical that the president will in fact do anything to curb the vicious cycle of violence in the country.
Roberto Briceno-Leon, the Director of the Venezuelan Observatory on Violence said: “It remains to be seen if it’s another political move or a genuine reform. Still, [Maduro] has taken up the violence issue which never happened with [former President Hugo] Chávez.”
The organization noted that murders have almost quadrupled over the last 15 years, with around 24,763 murders in 2013 alone. That means a homicide rate of 79 per 100,000 Venezuelans.
Maduro also said about the Miss Venezuela murder: “The authorities must come together to find common ground, to work together. This is an issue that we must approach with a higher level of integration, with a new model. Nobody can cross their arms. The slaughter of this young Venezuelan is a slap against all of us. Let everyone take responsibility, I’ll take mine.”
It is hoped that some kind of solution will be found and implemented in order to ensure that the deadly cycle of violence in the country is brought under control before more innocent victims lose their lives.
