Latin America holds the ignominious distinction of having the most cities on Mexico’s Citizens’ Council for Public Security’s annual ranking of the world’s most violent cities for 2016.
Of the 50 cities on the list, 43 are in Latin America, including 19 in Brazil, eight in Mexico, and eight in Venezuela.
The region’s violence is in large part drug related, driven by traffickers and supplemented by gang wars, political instability, and widespread poverty that has been exacerbated by sluggish economic growth or economic reversals.
The council’s ranking contains cities with populations of more than 300,000 and does not count deaths in combat zones or cities with unavailable data, so some dangerous cities don’t appear on the list
In some cases, the Council has determined homicide rates through estimates based on incomplete data.
In Venezuela, for example, the government has not consistently released homicide data (though it did this year), so to find the rate for Caracas, the Council made an estimate based on entries at the Bello Monte morgue - though, as the Council admits, that morgue receives bodies from an area much larger than Caracas itself.
50. Durban, South Africa, had 34.43 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Striking workers of the South African Municipal Workers Union marching through Durban in 2011. source Reuters
49. Curitiba, Brazil, had 34.92 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers clashing with teachers during a protest in Curitiba in Parana state on April 29. source Paulo Lisboa/Reuters
48. Cucuta, Colombia, had 37 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Colombians arrive at the Simon Bolivar bridge after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered increased deportations, in Cucuta, Colombia, August 24, 2015. source REUTERS/Manuel Hernandez
47. Vitoria, Brazil, had 37.54 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers carry a body during a military-police strike in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil, February 10, 2017. source REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker
46. Manaus, Brazil, had 38.25 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers standing below members of different Amazonian tribes who occupied the headquarters of Brazil's Indian affairs bureau, protesting a court decision to evict them from a nearby plot of land they had been occupying, in Manaus in 2013. source Reuters
45. Macapa, Brazil, had 30.25 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Security officers around the coffin carrying yachting legend Peter Blake of New Zealand prior to being loaded on a Brazilian air-force plane in Macapa, in the Amazonian state of Amapa, December 9, 2001. Blake was killed by pirates on December 6, 2001. source REUTERS/Gilmar Nascimento/AE
44. Armenia, Colombia, had 38.54 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Colombian paramedics carry the coffin of one of 11 soldiers killed in combat near Armenia, Colombia, September 3, 2007. Eleven soldiers were killed while battling FARC rebels in the mountainous central province of Quindio, the Colombian army said. source REUTERS/John Jairo Bonilla
Armenia was the home of Carlos Lehder - a cocaine-addled neo-Nazi who helped start the Medellin cartel.
43. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, had 39.19 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers ride their horses toward a man sitting in a park in Port Elizabeth, in South Africa's Nelson Mandela municipality, June 23, 2010. source (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
42. Goiânia y Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil, had 39.48 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Demonstrators burning a Brazilian flag while protesting against the 2014 World Cup in Goiania, Brazil. source Reuters
41. Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, had 40.95 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Patrons eat at a taco stand next to the body of a man on the pavement, in Ciudad Obregon, August 10, 2010. According to local media, the man died after a heart attack. source Reuters
40. Chihuahua, Mexico, had 42.02 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Demonstrators wearing paper masks with the name of one of the missing 43 Ayotzinapa trainee teachers march in Chihuahua, November 15, 2014. source REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
Read more about the disappeared Ayotzinapa students here and here.
39. Cuiaba, Brazil, had 42.61 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A Brazilian soldier standing guard near where the South Korean team was attending a training session at the stadium of the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso in Cuiaba in 2014. source Reuters
38. Teresina, Brazil, had 42.84 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Residents on a street that was flooded by the Poti River in Teresina in the northeastern Brazilian state of Piaui on May 8, 2009. source Paulo Whitaker/Reuters
37. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, had 43.63 homicides per 100,000.
Foto: Forensic technicians inspect a body after unknown assailants gunned down two persons leaving a restaurant in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, January 17, 2017. source REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
Read more about the cartel-related violence plaguing Ciudad Juarez.
36. Detroit had 44.60 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers outside the scene of a multiple shooting in Detroit in 2013. source AP
35. Fortaleza, Brazil, had 44.98 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers searching participants of a demonstration in Fortaleza, Brazil. source REUTERS/Stringer/Brazil/Nereu Jr
34. New Orleans had 45.17 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Orleans Parish mounted police officers marching down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter announcing the official end of Mardi Gras in New Orleans in 2006. source Reuters
33. São Luís, Brazil, had 45.41 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: The body of Brazilian journalist Decio Sa seen after he was shot at a restaurant and bar in São Luis, Maranhao state, Brazil, in 2013. source Reuters
32. Kingston, Jamaica, had 45.43 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Jamaican police officers patrolling a market area near the Tivoli Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, in 2010. source Hans Deryk/Reuters
31. Palmira, Colombia, had 46.30 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A soldier standing guard alongside explosives confiscated by soldiers during a raid in Palmira, Colombia. source REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga
30. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela, had 46.86 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers near the body of Anzoategui state police officer Mario Figueroa after he was shot dead in Barcelona, Venezuela, on January 24, 2015. source Reuters
29. João Pessoa, Brazil, had 47.57 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Authorities in João Pessoa, Brazil. source Flickr/Ben Tavener
28. Recife, Brazil, had 47.89 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A demonstrator chasing vandals during a protest against the Confederations Cup and the government of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff in Recife City in 2013. source Reuters
27. Mazatlan, Mexico, had 48.75 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: The hands of a dead man on a sidewalk in Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, October 22, 2011. A man was shot dead outside his home by two gunmen, according to local media. source REUTERS/Stringer
26. Baltimore had 51.14 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police stand in formation as a curfew approaches in Baltimore, April 29, 2015. source Associated Press/Patrick Semansky
25. Maceio, Brazil, had 51.78 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Hooded police officers on strike standing guard at a balcony during a clash with Brazilian troops in downtown Maceio, in the northern state of Alagoas, some 1,500 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, in 1997. source AP
24. Culiacan, Mexico, had 51.81 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A Mexican marine looks at the body of a gunman next to a vehicle after a gun fight in Culiacan, Mexico, February 7, 2017. The Sinaloa state prosecutor’s office said several suspects and a marine died in a early morning clash after the heavily armed men attacked the marines while on patrol in the city. source (AP Photo/Rashide Frias)
23. Guatemala City, Guatemala, had 52.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Policemen escort suspected drug trafficker Jairo Orellana at Aurora international airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala, July 24, 2015. Orellana, a suspected trafficker linked to powerful Mexican cartels, was extradited to the US on charges of conspiracy for the smuggling of drugs. source REUTERS/Josue Decavele
Cocaine seizures in Guatemala, a major drug transshipment point, recently hit a 10-year high.
22. Tijuana, Mexico, had 53.06 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Forensic workers stand over the headless body of a man in Tijuana, October 12, 2010. According to local media, the body was found on a street a few hours after its head, wrapped in pink cardboard paper and with a message written on it, was placed outside the building of a local newspaper. source REUTERS/Jorge Duenes
Over the last two years, Tijuana has seen a spike in homicides, as rival cartels compete for control.
21. Cali, Colombia, had 54 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Colombian police officers arresting three men during a raid, at Comuna 20 in Cali in 2013. source Reuters
20. Salvador, Brazil, had 54.71 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police patrolling in the Nordeste de Amaralina slum complex in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, in 2013. source Reuters
19. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil, had 56.45 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A worker cuts sugar cane in Campos dos Goytacazes in Rio de Janeiro state, November 10, 2010. source REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
18. Cumana, Venezuela, had 59.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Venezuelan National Guard troops showing bags containing seized cocaine in three houses outside Cumana, about 270 miles east of Caracas. source AP
17. Barquisimeto, Venezuela, had 59.38 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A rescue worker walks with an unidentified injured man during an uprising at the Centro Occidental (Uribana) prison in Barquisimeto, January 25, 2013. A jail riot broke out after news of an inspection to confiscate weapons at the prison. source REUTERS/Diario el Informador
16. Vitória da Conquista, Brazil, had 60.10 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Vitória da Conquista, seen at night in 2012. source JP Negri/Wikimedia Commons
15. Feira de Santana, Brazil, had 60.23 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: The phrase "against the organization of misery," a reference to the work of Pablo Neruda, written on a wall in Feira de Santana, Brazil. source Andrevruas/Wikimedia Commons
14. St. Louis had 60.37 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A man seen in early 2014 during rioting after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. source Reuters
13. Cape Town, South Africa, had 60.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police officers firing on demonstrators in 2013 during a strike by farm workers at De Doorns on the N1 highway linking Cape Town and Johannesburg. source Reuters
12. Aracaju, Brazil, had 62.76 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Prisoners on the roof of the Advogado Antonio Jacinto Filho state prison, with military police officers gathered nearby, in Aracaju, Brazil, in 2012. source Secretaria de Estado de Seguranca Publica de Sergipe/AP
11. Belém, Brazil, had 67.41 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Demonstrators clash with police during an anti-government protest in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil, June 20, 2013. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities in protests reflecting widespread anger at poor public services, police violence, and government corruption. source Reuters
10. Natal, Brazil, had 69.56 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Inmates are seen during an uprising at Alcacuz prison in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, January 20, 2017. source REUTERS/Nacho Doce
9. Valencia, Venezuela, had 72.02 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Venezuelan army tanks take part in a military parade to celebrate the 188th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo in Valencia, some 112 miles west of Caracas, June 24, 2009. source REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
8. Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela, had 82.84 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Nicolas Maduro arriving to a campaign rally at the state of Amazonas, April 6, 2013. source REUTERS/Miraflores Palace/Handout
7. San Salvador, El Salvador, had 83.39 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Police investigators and forensic technicians at a crime scene where two construction workers were killed in San Salvador, El Salvador, October 12, 2016. source REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
6. Maturin, Venezuela, had 84.21 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: source Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider
5. Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, had 84.67 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A soldier standing guard at the site of a car-bomb attack outside the broadcaster Televisa in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. source Reuters
4. Distrito Central, Honduras, had 85.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A member of a forensic team looks at blood on the floor at a repair shop where three men were shot dead by unknown attackers, in Comayaguela, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 14, 2017. source REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera
3. San Pedro Sula, Honduras, had 112.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: A man lies dead on the floor of a shoe shop in the San Francisco neighborhood of San Pedro Sula, September 7, 2010. Two gunmen killed 18 people in an incident reportedly related to drugs. source REUTERS/Diario La Prensa/Handout
2. Acapulco, Mexico, had 113.24 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Forensic officers cover the body of Alejandro Gallardo Perez, 23, after he was shot dead near his home in San Agustin, on the outskirts of Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, April 15, 2016. The man was shot five times by unknown gunmen. source AP Photo/Enric Marti
Acapulco, and Guerrero state as a whole, has been shaken by spiraling narco violence for more than a year.
1. Caracas, Venezuela, had 130.35 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Foto: Demonstrators scuffle with security forces during an opposition rally in Caracas, Venezuela, April 4, 2017. source Thomson Reuters
Official data, released by the Venezuelan government for the first time in several years, put Venezuela's 2016 homicide rate at at 70.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the world and up from 58 in 2015.
Another estimate from a nongovernment organization put the national homicide rate at 91.8 per 100,000 people.
