A nongovernmental group that tracks crime in Venezuela says the homicide rate climbed in 2015, putting the country on track to be one of the most violent in the world. In a report Monday, the group, the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, estimated that 27,875 killings occurred this year, pushing the homicide rate up to 90 per 100,000 residents; last year, its count was 82 per 100,000. The group said that killings in Venezuela this year surpassed those in Honduras and that the country now rivals El Salvador as the world’s deadliest. While year-end 2015 numbers are unavailable for El Salvador for comparison, the number of killings there has skyrocketed in recent years as a truce between its two biggest gangs has fallen apart. Monday’s report is based on press reports, victim surveys and officials’ comments. The Venezuelan authorities generally dispute the group’s findings and say the homicide rate is much […]