Venezuelan Robbers On The Run With Remaining Hostages
Venezuelan bank robbers took off in an ambulance with many hostages after a two day stand off and a police siege freed some of the other captives that were being held. The police promised not to follow the remaining robbers and hostages.
As it sped away, hundreds of police and relatives and friends of hostages streamed into the bank to find those who had been freed. “It was so nerve-racking because things could have changed from one moment to the next,” said one freed hostage, Jeancarlos Gil, 19. The hostage-takers have agreed to free the remaining captives from the ambulance later Tuesday, officials said. It was not clear if the robbers had stolen money from the bank before boarding the getaway vehicle.
The four men botched a robbery at the bank early Monday and seized dozens of employees and customers to avoid arrest. Hostages said as many as 60 people had been held captive. The siege highlighted the scourge of crime across the OPEC nation, which has one of the world’s highest rates of gun-related deaths. With crime hurting his popularity, President Hugo Chavez has vowed to tackle the problem and warns his political allies that voters could back the opposition in elections this year if the government fails to make headway.
Hundreds of police were deployed in the area and helicopters clattered overhead regularly during the siege at a branch of Banco Provincial, owned by Spain’s BBVA. Security forces tracked the vehicle from afar to enable them to go and pick up the hostages when they are released. “They have a plan to leave but without hurting anybody. There is no need to follow them,” Gil said.