The 50 most violent cities in the world
Latin America holds the undesirable distinction of having the most violent cities in the world, according to the annual ranking from Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security.
READ MORE: The FBI's most violent cities in each state
Of the 50 cities on the list, 41 are within Latin America and 21 of those cities are located in Brazil.
The lion share of the elevated violence in the region is due to drug trafficking supplemented with gang wars, political instability, and the deregulation of economies triggering widespread poverty.
"Narcotics are the biggest black market earner of all. Estimated to be worth more than three hundred billion dollars a year, the global industry has pumped huge resources into criminal empires decade after decade," Ioan Grillo author of "Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America" wrote.
"So that amount of money, $100 billion a year, 10 years, a trillion dollars, 30 years, $3 trillion. That amount of money pumps in these organizations ... buying more guns, paying more assassins, bribing more police, bribing more politicians ... and that is why the region right now, Latin American and the Caribbean, are at a boiling point," Ioan Grillo told Business Insider.
The council's ranking includes cities with a population of more than 300,000 and does not count deaths in combat zones or cities with unavailable data, so some dangerous cities may not be represented on the list.
50. Obregón, Mexico had 28.29 homicides per 100,000 residents.
49. Maracaibo, Venezuela had 28.85 homicides per 100,000 residents.
48. Macapá, Brazil had 30.25 homicides per 100,000 residents.
47. Johannesburg, South Africa had 30.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.
46. Victoria, Mexico had 30.50 homicides per 100,000 residents.
45. Pereira, Colombia had 32.58 homicides per 100,000 residents.
44. Curitiba, Brazil had 34.71 homicides per 100,000 residents.
43. Porto Alegre, Brazil had 34.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.
42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa had 35.85 homicides per 100,000 residents.
41. Durban, South Africa had 35.93 homicides per 100,000 residents.
40. Campina Grande, Brazil had 36.04 homicides per 100,000 residents.
39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil had 36.16 homicides per 100,000 residents.
38. Aracaju, Brazil had 37.7 homicides per 100,000 residents.
37. Recife, Brazil had 38.12 homicides per 100,000 residents.
36. Vitória da Conquista, Brazil had 38.46 homicides per 100,000 residents.
35. Tijuana, Mexico had 39.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.
34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela had 40.08 homicides per 100,000 residents.
33. Kingston, Jamaica had 41.14 homicides per 100,000 residents.
32. New Orleans, Louisiana had 41.44 homicides per 100,000 residents.
31. Vitoria, Brazil had 41.99 homicides per 100,000 residents.
30. Teresina, Brazil had 42.64 homicides per 100,000 residents.
29. Goiânia y Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil has 43.38 homicides per 100,000 residents.
28. Detroit, Michigan had 43.89 homicides per 100,000 residents.
27. Feira de Santana, Brazil had 45.5 homicides per 100,000 residents.
26. Belém, Brazil had 45.83 homicides per 100,000 residents.
25. Guatemala City, Guatemala had 47.17 homicides per 100,000 residents.
24. Cumaná, Venezuela had 47.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.
23. Manaus, Brazil had 47.87 homicides per 100,000 residents.
22. Cuiabá, Brazil had 48.52 homicides per 100,000 residents.
21. São Luís, Brazil had 53.05 homicides per 100,000 residents.
20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela had 54.96 homicides per 100,000 residents.
19. Baltimore, USA had 54.98 homicides per 100,000 residents.
18. Maceio, Brazil had 55.63 homicides per 100,000 residents.
17. Culiacan, Mexico had 56.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.
16. João Pessoa, Brazil had 58.40 homicides per 100,000 residents.
15. St. Louis, United States had 59.23 homicides per 100,000 residents.
14. Salvador, Brazil had 60.63 homicides per 100,000 residents.
13. Natal, Brazil had 60.66 homicides per 100,000 residents.
12. Fortaleza, Brazil had 60.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.
11. Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela had 62.33 homicides per 100,000 residents.
10. Cali, Colombia had 64.27 homicides per 100,000 residents.
9. Cape Town, South Africa had 65.53 homicides per 100,000 residents.
8. Palmira, Colombia had 70.88 homicides per 100,000 residents.
7. Valencia, Venezuela had 72.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.
6. Distrito Central, Honduras had 73.51 homicides per 100,000 residents.
5. Maturin, Venezuela had 86.45 homicides per 100,000 residents.
4. Acapulco, Mexico had 104.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.
3. San Salvador, El Salvador had 108.54 homicides per 100,000 residents.
2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras had 111.03 homicides per 100,000 residents.
1. Caracas, Venezuela had 119.87 homicides per 100,000 residents.
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