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CARACAS, Dec. 28-- The crime rate in Venezuela fell 36.3 percent this year in the eight main criminal categories, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said Saturday. "The reduction in crimes that occurred this year, compared to 2018, reached 34.4 percent in the case of theft; 35.4 percent in the case of robbery; 51.9 percent and 50.8 percent in the cases of vehicular theft and robbery, respectively," the minister said. Reverol said that homicides have decreased for the fourth consecutive year, with the rate falling to 20 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants, a reduction of 36.3 percent. Kidnappings "fell by 34.2 percent, and efficiency in solving cases reached 97 percent, minimizing fatalities," he said. As to the fight against drug trafficking, the Venezuelan minister said that security forces seized in 2019 a total of 44,274 kilograms of various drugs and detained 6,254 people allegedly involved in the drug trade. He added that the rate of traffic accidents in the country had also fallen, decreasing 49.7 percent compared to last year. | 
