Crime on Margarita island is currently very high, having soared nationally since 1999 when Ch�vez came to power. The murder rate index for the island (population about 400,000) in 2008 is reported as 63.1 per 100,000 inhabitants which is among the highest in the world and can be contrasted with a rate of 1.26 for the UK in the same year. House robberies by armed gangs are reported as widespread. On 20 January 2012 about 30 or 35 Brazilian tourists were robbed in their hotel in Antolin del Campo, Margarita, by a gang of between 13 and 15 armed robbers.
In 2011 there have been at least three tourist murders on Margarita. On 18 July 2011, Tom Ossel, 28, was shot dead in a robbery after four men and three women burst into the hotel Casa Rosa in Playa El Agua, Margarita where he was staying. French tourist Franc�s Yves Le Bras was murdered in a robbery on 29 March 2011 at hotel Laguna Mar in Margarita while he and his wife dined at the restaurant Guacuco. Belgian tourist Bonne Philippe was also murdered in March 2011 while eating in a fast food outlet in Playa El Agua, Margarita. On 27 August 2010 an Italian, Emiliano Astore, was murdered on his boat anchored off Margarita Island in an apparent robbery. Two police officers and a civilian were arrested. A third officer was implicated in the "exploitation of objects" from the crime.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns that street crime in Venezuela is high, and that armed muggings and 'express kidnappings' - opportunistic abductions to extort money from someone - are regular occurrences.
Before 1998 Venezuela was a pirate free country, but since the beginning of the political difficulties the picture has changed, and there have been 38 registered attacks, with about ten of them at or near Margarita. Venezuela is now listed as a dangerous region for pirate attacks and in many regions, including between Margarita and Sucre, sailors should not anchor and yachts should sail in company
