Posted on January 2, 2012

Puerto Rico Murder Count Reaches 1,130

Fox News Latino, December 30, 2011

The seven people murdered in Puerto Rico on Thursday raised to 1,130 the tally of violent deaths on the island two days before the close of the year, a figure that has broken crime records.

The death toll for 2011 indicates that Puerto Rico during the course of the year has experienced almost three violent deaths per day.

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The island’s assistant police director, Leovigildo Vázquez, announced that the murders of the three men in the capital were linked to drug trafficking, which is the cause of about 50 percent of all violent deaths in the U.S. commonwealth.

The magnitude of the problem — starting in October — has led to defendants in violent crimes committed with firearms being tried in U.S. federal court.

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Original Article