Criminal Violence in Latin America

Latin America is, by far, the world's most violent region. Despite being home to just 8 percent of the globe's population, the region is responsible for about a third of all global violent deaths annually. Latin America has seventeen of the twenty most violent countries and forty-three of the fifty most violent cities. Such levels of violence are particularly surprising considering they have coincided with the spread of electoral democracy and human rights throughout the region. The end of Latin America's armed conflicts and the transition from authoritarian political institutions has not brought about less violent societies. Instead, many of Latin America's democracies have given rise to a plethora of nonstate armed groups including prison and street gangs, drug-trafficking cartels, smuggling networks, militias, and vigilante groups. Today, these armed groups are present in virtually every country of the region and impact the daily lives of millions of Latin Americans.