Colombia’s homicide rate will drop below zero in 2014, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said after presenting extremely promising mid-term crime statistics.
The president discarded increasing pessimism among Colombians regarding security in the country’s cities and an apparent increase in rebel attacks on the countryside, claiming the numbers show a historic drop.
“I don’t know many Colombians. I am not familiar with their sentiments. Besides, sentiments are subjective. Numbers, however, are objective. And the numbers show we will have a homicide rate below zero before the 2014 elections,” said Santos.
“To be exact, we will have minus 14 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, unprecedented in the world” the president added with a smile.
Santos then drew a graph, showing reporters that homicide rates indeed would drop below zero if extrapolating the decreasing crime statistics.