What Is The Most Violent Country In Latin America?

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The economic and political crisis combined with alarming crime rates keep Venezuela the most dangerous country in Latin America and the Caribbean for the second consecutive year.

According to a study carried out by the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV), there were 16,506 homicides in 2019 in the South American country, which means a rate of 60.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The report indicates that, although the rate decreased about 25 percent in relation to 2018, when Venezuela also led this regional index, "the situation is still worrying."

The researchers attribute the reduction to the fact that organized crime groups exercise greater control over their territories of influence and to the emigration of minor criminals to other countries in the region among the millions of Venezuelans who have left their country.

The second place in the Observatory's list is Jamaica, with a homicide rate of 47.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, slightly higher than the 47 in 2018. The third place is occupied by Honduras, where 3,996 homicides were registered in 2019, a an increase of 7.1 percent compared to 3,731 last year.

They are followed by Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Belize, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and Puerto Rico.