Caracas – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday said that police had found the body of Carolina de Luca, 23, the daughter of a top military officer, adding that she was presumably killed by drug traffickers.
Chavez began his weekly television and radio show “Alo Presidente!” with the announcement.
The young woman had been kidnapped 11 days ago in the city of Puerto Ordaz, 810 kilometers (505 miles) southwest of Caracas.
Local media reported that she appeared to have been killed by a single gunshot to the head.
The young woman was the daughter of the military commander of the country’s southeastern region, Col. Roberto de Luca, to whom Chavez promised to “fight with more intensity” against the lack of security in Venezuela.
The president also confirmed the arrests of five Colombians whose statements to authorities led to the finding of De Luca’s body.
Reports were that she appeared to have been killed about a week ago and buried in a rural area about an hour by road from Puerto Ordaz.
Chavez said that all the evidence obtained so far had led authorities to presume that she was kidnapped and killed by a drug trafficking gang.
Lack of security is one of the problems that concern Venezuelans most, assorted surveys have indicated.
About 10,000 serious crimes are committed in Venezuela each year, a figure that the authorities have been unable to reduce despite heavy public pressure to intensify the anti-crime fight.
