Hostages in Venezuela

Volume 4: January / February Comments (0)

by An Nguyen

In Caracas, Venezuela gunmen held more than 30 people hostage, including children and women, inside a Venezuelan bank Tuesday, Jan 29 during a 24 hour standoff with police that began with a ruined robbery.

The hostage standoff began January 28th in the morning in the town in central Guarico state, southeast of Caracas. A police officer surprised the 4 gunman that was using a cash register. They held more than 30 people hostage when robbery went wrong.

A 2-week-old infant, a 10-year-old boy and a woman who was eight months pregnant was among about 34 hostages inside the bank. In a message to the hostage-takers, he said: “Everyone be calm, be conscious that it’s very different to face a trial for kidnapping and for homicide.” They are compromising with the robbers through radio.

They held the hostages for over 24 hours and negotiated to free the hostages for a getaway ambulance car. They were later stopped on the highway and arrested. There were 5 remaining hostages when the robbers laid down their weapons and got away. “This nightmare is over,” Gov. Eduardo Manuitt.