President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday gave the criminal groups three days to surrender and lay down their arms peacefully, otherwise he promised to crush crime by force, RIA Novosti reported.

Maduro stated on air of the state television of the country that  those groups who want to make peace, have 72 hours to do it, as the time has already come and our children deserve a peaceful life.

Observers note that now crime rate in Venezuela, including Caracas, hits all the records. The difficult economic situation in Venezuela also affects the growth of these indicators. According to the Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia independent organization, by the end of 2015 the country has registered the level of 90 murders for 100 thousand people, which is the highest rate for a country not being engaged in  military operations.

The official Venezuelan authorities have always denied data on crime published by Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia, stating that the purpose of the statistics is to discredit  the image of the country. Thus, in 2014 Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz reported the figure of 62 killed per 100 thousand and Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia declared that the authorities counted only those cases  that are were investigated.

Maduro has promised that he will act from the position of force and with the use of weapons with the criminals who refuse to surrender. Armed forces, national police, special services of criminal investigation department and will be involved in the operation. The next phase of the Operations on liberation and protection began  on Tuesday near Caracas,  as a result of which nine bandits who showed resistance were killed.

The president of Venezuela stated that he will not allow the establishment of control from the paramilitary gangs. He added that they will catch and liquidate all groups which are engaged in robbery, murders, prosecution of the people.

In addition, the Venezuelan president said about the penetration of the paramilitary gangs into the territory of the country from neighboring Colombia.