Response to a student question from Canada on my awareness of danger in South America.

Thank-you Claire for pointing out the dangerous incidents you mention in South America. On your advice I checked the FOX News website and found the following story related to the horrific killing of the young Canadians.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan authorities found the bullet-ridden bodies of three Canadian boys who had been kidnapped more than a month ago in the South American country, the justice minister said.

The bodies of 17-year-old John Faddoul, along with his brothers Kevin, 13, and Jason, 12, were found Tuesday afternoon near an electrical tower in Yare, about 30 miles west of Caracas, Justice Minister Jesse Chacon said.

The body of the boy's driver, 30-year-old Miguel Ribas, also was found with them, Chacon said.

"We lament, despite the efforts that were made 24 hours a day since this started, we have not been able to prevent this abominable homicide," Chacon said. "The three boys were identified by a relative."

Police have said that the brothers were abducted Feb. 23 when unidentified men dressed as police stopped their car at a roadside checkpoint in Caracas as the boys were on their way to school.

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the kidnappers could in fact be police officers.

The killings come just days after a prominent Italian-born businessman, 74-year-old Filippo Sindoni, was abducted and killed.

That case prompted Italy's foreign minister to ask Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government to do everything possible to end the kidnappings of Italians in the country.

In January, officials in Italy said an Italian businesswoman and her 3-year-old son were freed two months after being abducted in Venezuela. Four men were arrested for their roles in the crime, officials said.

Violent robberies, kidnappings and murders are frequent in Venezuela. There were 9,402 homicides reported in 2005, slightly down from 2004, according to government statistics.

I AM MOST CERTAINLY AWARE OF JUST HOW LUCKY I WAS NOT TO BE KILLED, BUT I DO URGE YOU NOT TO VIEW SOUTH AMERICA ONLY IN A NEGATIVE WAY. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL CONTINENT AND I HAVE MET MANY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!