"Following the January killing of actress and former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear and her ex-husband in a roadside robbery in the presence of their five-year-old daughter, who herself was shot in the leg, Venezuela was described by Channel 4 as “one of the most dangerous countries in the world,” a country “where crime escalated during the administration of former President Hugo Chávez and killings are common in armed robberies.” The Venezuelan Violence Observatory said in March 2014 the country's murder rate was now nearly 80 deaths per 100,000 people, while government statistics put it at 39 deaths per 100,000.