Holy Thugs

Holy Thugs In the dangerous city of Caracas, people are worshipping dead criminals. Do these flawed figureheads offer genuine comfort to troubled communities or is this unusual spiritualism encouraging more violence?

Saint Ismael Sanchez is the top saint of the Holy Thugs, a religious cult that combines Catholicism and Spiritualism. "He helped the poor a lot, people say he used to steal but it was only for his neighbourhood". For many around Venezuela, these fallible saints are a realistic answer to the crime and violence that plague their communities. "No religion is going to tell me there is something totally good or totally evil". However, 14000 people were killed in Venezuela last year, so is this really the perfect solution to an imperfect situation? Or is it a troubling trend which is sanctioning the growing crime rate? "A lot of people come and ask for someone to be killed".
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