Drug trafficking, gang wars, political instability, corruption, and poverty have combined to make Latin America by far the most homicidal region of the world.
The region has 40% of the world's murders, despite having only 8 percent of the population, according to the U.N.
The highest murder rate of all is in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with 169 homicides per 100,000 people, according to a study published earlier this year by Mexico's Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice. The ranking is based on 2012 data, except for San Pedro Sula andDistrito Central in Honduras, where authorities would not cooperate and 2011 data was used.
The study does not count deaths in a war zone.
Forty-one of the top 50 dangerous cities are located in Latin America. U.S. cities also made the list, lead by New Orleans at 17th, along with Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Oakland.
50) Barranquilla, Colombia had 29.41 homicides per 100,000 residents.
49) Brasilia, Brazil had 29.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.
48) Belo Horizonte, Brazil had 29.74 homicides per 100,000 residents.
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