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Venezuelan politician's murder: More pressure on Maduro to crack down on crime

A Venezuelan lawmaker was murdered in his home late Wednesday. Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

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Courtesy of Miraflores Palace/Reuters
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attends to a ceremony at the military academy in Caracas, Sept. 30, 2014.
  • By Jim Wyss McClatchy

| BOGOTA, Colombia

A Venezuelan lawmaker and a member of the ruling party was murdered in his home late Wednesday – another black mark for one of the world's most dangerous countries.

Robert Serra, a 27-year-old Caracas congressman, was killed along with his partner Maria Herrera, Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez announced late Wednesday.

Rodriguez didn't provide a motive for the killing and said the investigation was underway. Torres called for calm among the ranks of the ruling PSUV party and promised to get to the bottom of what he called a "vile" crime.

"What pain, what frustration," President Nicolas Maduro wrote on Twitter early Thursday. "The criminal hand cannot kill dreams or silence the brave voice of Robert Serra."

State run VTV television said a memorial for Serra would be held at the National Assembly on Thursday.

According to UN figures, Venezuela has the highest murder rate per capita in the world after Honduras and the Maduro administration has been under pressure to crackdown on crime.

Serra was a member of pro-government youth groups and became the youngest-serving congressman during the 2012-14 legislative session.

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