From the BBC World Service, welcome to the latest edition of the documentary podcast.

Every week we bring you a range of stories from our presenters and reporters across the world.

Please do rate the documentary on your podcast app and leave a comment. the The most painful thing I went through with the gang was seeing a friend die.

He was just a cup, about 14 years old.

I was 15.

Hello, I'm Margarita Rodriguez, and this program is about the end of innocence in Venezuela,

my country, for the many children in criminal gangs.

As the son says, this street compassion has disappeared. It happened during a showdown between gangs. He wasn't part of our gang, but he liked to have been here.

He happened during a showdown between gangs.

He wasn't part of our gang, but he liked to hang out with us. He also

liked the speed, as they say. He liked that. They shot him on purpose because if you are with us, you are one of us.

After El Salvador and Guatemala, we have the highest child homicide rate in the world, 20 per 100,000 population according to 2012 figures.

And if we just talk about in Edge Boys, the right increases to 74 per 100,000.

I was there, I run away, all run away but he didn't get the chance to run on anything

he spent about two weeks in hospital until he died.

Homicide is the leading cause of death among males between 10 and 19 years old in Venezuela,

according to UNICEF. I grew up here and I just have been

I grew up here and I just have very happy memories of my childhood.

Fernando Pereira is the director of Secodab,

an NGO that for 30 years has worked for children's rights here.

We cannot understand how our country managed to lower mortality rates in infants,

and now children are dying violently in their

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