When you live in a place like Venezuela, Mexico or Columbia, you are looking to protect your family and yourself at all costs.
Venezuela, the country of beauty contests and plastic surgery, boasts the second highest homicide rate in the whole world, surpassed only by Honduras, nearly four kidnappings are reported each week and 60 people die from violent deaths a day, according to the government.
In the countries of the Latin America a new fashion rage is spreading. People are trying to bulletproof everything: from clothes and cars to backpacks for kids in order to protect themselves against the rampant violent crime. Abduction, robberies and killings, the vast majority of these crimes are left unsolved and unpunished.
The rich have poured money into security. In the past five years, the number of bodyguards has increased by more than 70 percent. It is very common to see the children of wealthier families shuttled to school by armed chauffeurs.
The president of the Mexican Association of Automobile armorers Fernando Echeverri says that 2500 cars are expected to be armored in Mexico this year, compared to 1200 five years ago.
A man from Venezuela, Rojas, says “you have to take charge of your own security.” He decided to make his car bulletproof several years ago, after a man on a motorcycle tried unsuccessfully to shoot his father. A manager of a security company called VSafe, Rafael Cadalzo, said he has even made the windows of his house armored.
A few years ago, Belisario opened Blindacentre, the first armoring shop in Cagua, a town about 70 kilometres southwest of Caracas. His garage, currently packed with several Jeep Cherokees, a Range Rover and a Chevrolet Silverado, has a long waiting list.
Due to long-running internal conflicts and drug wars, Colombia became a pioneer in manufacturing armored cars. However, according to some industry experts, Venezuela is currently surpassing Colombia in the number of armored vehicles produced per year.
Miguel Caballero, a designer from Colombia, believes he has found the solution. He is a 38-year old entrepreneur known for his armored clothing. His company sells a line of bulletproof clothes that fit like Armani: business suits, trench coats, jackets and denim casuals. Caballero who started his business nearly 20 years ago, says that last year his company and its distributors worldwide sold more than $20 million worth of his armored products. Willing to spend US$900 to US$3,900, his customers are mainly executives, political figures, celebrities, undercover agents and other VIPs who have security concerns and demand more than a bodyguard, however don’t want to have a SWAT-team look.
It’s never too late to invest in your security.
