Is Puerto Cabello safe?
Venezuela · South America · data updated 2026-09-04
Puerto Cabello is a city in Venezuela, home to about 156k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 5,314 of 6,168, with a safety score of 48.8 out of 100 - mid-table: neither the data for concern nor the data for reassurance dominates.
Emergency 911 (ambulance, fire, police)
- US State Department: Reconsider travelOfficial travel advisory level 3 of 4 for Venezuela, updated 2026-03-18.
- UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of this country18 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
- Elevated homicide rate13.81 homicides per 100,000 per year (national rate), about 5× the global city median.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Border areas
- Bolívar
- Delta Amacuro
- Zulia
- The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the remaining areas of Venezuela
- within 80km (50 miles) of the border with Colombia
- within 40km (25 miles) of the border with Brazil
- within 40km (25 miles) of the border with Guyana
- all of Cedeño Municipality
- the northern part of Sucre Municipality, from the Orinoco river to 80km south of the Troncal 19 road
- all of Heres Municpality
- the northern part of Raul Leoni Municipality, north of the Rio Paragua
- all of Caroni Municipality
- all of Piar Municipality
- all of Padre Pedro Chien Municipality
- all of Roscio Municipality
- all of El Callo Municipality
- all of Sifontes Municipality
Named in the official UK travel advice for Venezuela (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Puerto Cabello.
How safe is Puerto Cabello really?
No published homicide figure exists for Puerto Cabello itself, so the national rate stands in: Venezuela recorded 14 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023 - roughly 5 times the global city median. The city itself may be safer or more dangerous than its country's average. Venezuela's income inequality is middling (Gini 44.7) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
Puerto Cabello also carries some conflict exposure: UCDP recorded 5 deaths from organized violence within 100 km across 4 events in 2022-2024 - a factor crime statistics alone would miss.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Venezuela at level 3 of 4 - "Reconsider travel" (updated 2026-03-18). The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of this country, naming 18 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.
What to watch out for in Venezuela
Terrorism in Venezuela · Political and economic situation · Protests and demonstrations · Crime in rural areas · Armed groups · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Using cameras and binoculars in secure areas · Networks and internet · LGBT+ travellers · Age of consent · Swimming safety · Travelling to and from Maiquetia Airport, Caracas · Road travel · +5 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Venezuela — country-level, not specific to Puerto Cabello. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 14 /100knational rate, 2023 · ~5× the global city median
- Conflict deaths
- 5within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 44.7country, 2006
- Human development
- HDI 0.709country, 2023
- Income
- $20,840/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 156kurban centre · 4,723/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 39.0 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 36/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 19/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 10/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 6.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.64Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 19.2 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- no dataof the population · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.7 doctors /1k1.0 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 8 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Venezuela
- Earthquake
- 8.0/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 5.7/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Cyclone
- 5.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 5.4/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 1.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Venezuela as a whole, not Puerto Cabello specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Venezuela (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Venezuela; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Puerto Cabello that gives 48.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Puerto Cabello compared with Valencia
| Measure | Puerto Cabello | Valencia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 48.8 | 44.2 | +4.6 — better for Puerto Cabello |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 14 /100k | 24 /100k | −10.0 /100k — better for Puerto Cabello |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 5 | 7 | −2 — better for Puerto Cabello |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Venezuela, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Valencia →
Nearby cities
- Valencia 44.2
- Maracay 40.7
- La Victoria 44.7
- San Juan de Los Morros 44.7
- San Carlos 49.9
- San Antonio de los Altos [Los Teques] 36.0
- Catia La Mar [La Guaira] 36.0
- Caracas 36.0
See Puerto Cabello on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →