Some 21,700 murders were registered in Venezuela in 2012, which is a 12 percent increase against the previous year, a report from Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia independent organization said, according to RIA Novosti.

“A significant increase of violence was registered in Venezuela in 2012, which was a result of the increased number of crimes and their expansion on the new territories of the country despite the measures undertaken by the government to prevent and combat crimes,” the organization said.

It said the number of violent deaths amounted to 73 on every 100,000 people, comparing the figure of 67 in 2011 and even less of 48 in 2010.

Venezuela’s political opposition said earlier that in the last ten years of Hugo Chavez’s presidency over 155,780 people died as a result of violence.