Between 1996 and 2009, 139,063 people were killed by firearms in Venezuela; 96.96% were male and most of them young. The response to this national emergency has been one of repressive measures, and the victims are often regarded as bad people. However, the dead have families, and these families are also victims of armed violence. For this reason, this paper focuses on the people who weep – couples, pregnant wives, mothers, sisters and daughters – and how they intend to continue their lives in the absence of a loved one who died suddenly. It is imperative that these victims receive the support necessary to guarantee access to justice and to find a solution to the problem of the state’s failure to provide security to a population demobilized by fear.

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