One Saturday morning in September, four men burst into Miguel Angel Bravo¡¯s home in a quiet, middle-class neighborhood of Chile¡¯s capital, Santiago.

The 61-year-old accountant, who lives with his wife and daughter, had activated an alarm and put a padlock on the gate the night before.

But four armed attackers easily overcame those defenses to burst into his bedroom, beat him with an iron bar, steal his wallet and phone, and make their getaway in his car.