Venezuela is taking on its murder rate, one of the worst in the world, by taking on the weapons most-used in these murders: Guns.  President Nicolas Maduro announced new disarmament centers and an investment of some A$50 Million in the new Safe Homeland program.

“We are building peace from within, and for that, you need disarmament,” President Maduro said at event marking the International Day of Peace in the capital Caracas.

Venezuela has the world’s second-highest peacetime murder rate, following Honduras (.pdf link).  Most of Venezuela’s murders are committing with firearms.  Since 2011, guns sales have been restricted to security officials and sportsmen, a move praised by Human Rights groups and the United Nations. 

But there are still a lot of weapons around, and citizens are now being encouraged to turn over guns at any of 60 disarmament centers around the country, and thereby avoid the tough penalties enacted last year for illegal weapons possession.