A police officer looks through his patrol vehicle's windshield in La Dolorita.
A mural depicting Jesus Christ with a machine gun adorns a wall in the 23 de Enero slum, a violent and crime-ridden neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, that is a bastion of support for President Hugo Chavez.
A view of the crime-ridden and violent slum of Petare in Caracas, Venezuela, considered to be the largest slum in South America.
Cleo, a nine-year-old boy from the La Dolorita neighborhood in the megaslum of Petare, plays with a toy pistol near a youth soccer game on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela. The dangerous Petare slum is one of the largest in South America with over half a million residents, and the rampant crime there contributes to the roughly 100 violent homicides that take place in Caracas every week.
Dennis Fernandez Blanco, 18, suffering from multiple bullet wounds, writhes in pain and is comforted by his mother Carmen as he waits for treatment for at the Perez de Leon hospital in the Petare slum in Caracas.
A police officer searches young men for weapons and drugs during a patrol of the dangerous Petare slum in Caracas.
An officer from the Municipal Police of Sucre searches the mouth of a young man for drugs during a patrol in Petare.
A night patrol in Petare, where under equipped officers patrol the serpentine and dark alleyways on foot, often facing gunfire and hostile residents.
Police from the municipality of Sucre in eastern Caracas patrol the Petare slum looking for drugs and weapons. Petare is one of the largest slums in South America with over half a million residents, and is a hotbed of crime in Caracas, which is currently one of the most dangerous cities on the planet.
Police from the municipality of Sucre in eastern Caracas patrol the Petare slum looking for drugs and weapons. Petare is one of the largest slums in South America with over half a million residents, and is a hotbed of crime in Caracas, which is currently one of the most dangerous cities on the planet.
7 May 2011 - Caracas, Venezuela - A nurse tends a deep wound on the head of Rafael Marquina Sanchez, 35, who was hit in the head with a bottle as he was attacked and robbed by a groups of assailants outside a Metro station on a Saturday night, at the Perez de Leon hospital in the Petare slum in Caracas. Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and at least 387 people were killed in Caracas in April, 2011, and 72 more so far in May, most due to gunshot wounds. The Perez de Leon hospital lacks the most basic supplies, including gauze, antibiotics, anesthesia, syringes, sutures, and x-rays, as well as lacking qualified doctors and surgeons. Photo Credit: Charles Mostoller/Sipa Press
Maria Petit mourns over the body of her brother Jesus Antonio Petit, 25, who was found shot to death in the San Ignacio section of Petare early on the morning of April 16th.
Family members cry after finding out a close relative was murdered overnight in La Dolorita.
On patrol with police from PoliSucre in Petare, one of the largest and most dangerous slums in South America.
The dangerous and neglected Cementerio del Sur, a cemetery which serves the bulk of poor residents in Caracas.
Statues commemorating deceased gangsters are common in the dangerous and neglected Cementerio del Sur, a cemetery which serves the bulk of poor residents in Caracas.
On patrol with police from PoliSucre in Petare, one of the largest and most dangerous slums in South America.
A night view of the Petare slum.
On patrol with police from PoliSucre in Petare, one of the largest and most dangerous slums in South America.