The 50 most violent cities in the world

Reference: Rosen, A., Bender, J., and Macias, A. (2016). The 50 Most Violent Cities in the World. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/most-violent-cities-in-the-world-2016-1

Latin America holds the undesirable distinction of having the most cities on the Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security's annual ranking of the world's most violent cities.

Of the 50 cities on the list, 41 are in Latin America, including 21 in Brazil.

The lion's 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," wrote Ioan Grillo the author of "Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America."

"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," Grillo told Business Insider.

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 may not be represented on the list.

50. Obregón, Mexico, had 28.29 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Reuters

Patrons eat at a taco stand, as the body of a man lies on the pavement, in Ciudad Obregon August 10, 2010. According to local media, the man died after suffering a fatal heart attack.

49. Maracaibo, Venezuela, had 28.85 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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People blocking a road in protest after a large blackout affected five states in Venezuela, in the western city of Maracaibo, in 2011.

48. Macapá, Brazil, had 30.25 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider

47. Johannesburg, South Africa, had 30.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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A soldier standing guard as the police raided a hostel in Johannesburg's Alexandra township on April 23.

46. Victoria, Mexico, had 30.50 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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A soldier standing guard at the site of a car-bomb attack outside the broadcaster Televisa in Ciudad Victoria in Mexico.

45. Pereira, Colombia, had 32.58 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Troops unloading the body of a FARC rebel from a helicopter in Pereira, Colombia, in 2006.

44. Curitiba, Brazil, had 34.71 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Paulo Lisboa/Reuters

Police officers clashing with teachers during a protest in Curitiba in Parana state on April 29.

43. Porto Alegre, Brazil, had 34.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Riot police officers detaining two men during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Porto Alegre in 2014.

42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, had 35.85 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

South African soldiers seen before welcoming the funeral cortege carrying the coffin of former South African President Nelson Mandela to the Union Buildings in the capital Pretoria on December 12, 2013.

41. Durban, South Africa, had 35.93 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Striking workers of the South African Municipal Workers Union marched through Durban in 2011.

40. Campina Grande, Brazil, had 36.04 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Brazilian soldiers carrying the FN FAL rifle.

39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil, had 36.16 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Residents reacting to the effects of tear gas, which was fired by the riot police during a clash with demonstrators attending a protest against fare hikes for city buses in Rio de Janeiro on January 8.

38. Aracaju, Brazil, had 37.7 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Secretaria de Estado de Seguranca Publica de Sergipe/AP

Prisoners on the roof of the Advogado Antonio Jacinto Filho state prison, with military police officers gathered nearby, in Aracaju, Brazil, in 2012.

37. Recife, Brazil, had 38.12 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Reuters

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.

36. Vitória da Conquista, Brazil, had 38.46 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police officers blocking the main entrance to the construction site of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Vitoria do Xingu, near Altamira in Para State.

35. Tijuana, Mexico, had 39.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Soldiers outside the attorney general's office after Jorge Hank Rhon was transferred following his arrest in Tijuana in 2011.

34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela, had 40.08 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police officers near the body of Anzoategui state police officer Mario Figueroa after he was shot dead in Barcelona, in the state of Anzoategui, Venezuela, on January 24, 2015.

33. Kingston, Jamaica, had 41.14 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Hans Deryk/Reuters

A pick-up truck loaded with Jamaican police officers patrolling a market area near the Tivoli Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, in 2010.

32. New Orleans had 41.44 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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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.

31. Vitoria, Brazil, had 41.99 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Amazon Indians from the Xingu, Tapajos, and Teles Pires river basins facing a riot-police officer while invading the main construction site of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam site in protest against the dam's construction, in Vitoria do Xingu, near Altamira in Para State, in 2013.

30. Teresina, Brazil, had 42.64 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

Residents on a street that was flooded by the Poti River in Teresina in the northeastern Brazilian state of Piaui on May 8, 2009.

29. Goiânia y Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil, has 43.38 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Demonstrators burning a Brazilian flag while protesting against the 2014 World Cup in Goiania.

28. Detroit had 43.89 homicides per 100,000 residents.

AP

Police officers outside the scene of a multiple shooting in Detroit in 2013.

27. Feira de Santana, Brazil, had 45.5 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police officers searching youths for weapons and drugs while on patrol in the Nordeste de Amaralina slum complex in Salvador, Bahia State, in 2013.

26. Belém, Brazil, had 45.83 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Demonstrators clashing with police officers during an anti-government protest in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River, in 2013.

25. Guatemala City, Guatemala, had 47.17 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Riot police officers seen during a protest against the reelection of the city's mayor, Rubelio Recinos of the Patriot Party, in Barberena, northwest of Guatemala City, on September 8.

24. Cumaná, Venezuela, had 47.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Venezuelan National Guard troops showing bags containing seized cocaine in three houses outside Cumana, about 270 miles east of Caracas.

23. Manaus, Brazil, had 47.87 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police officers arriving as members of different Amazonian tribes 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 for several weeks, in Manaus in 2013.

22. Cuiabá, Brazil, had 48.52 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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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.

21. São Luís, Brazil, had 53.05 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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The body of Brazilian journalist Decio Sa seen after Sa was shot at a restaurant and bar in Sao Luis, Maranhao state, Brazil, in 2013.

20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela, had 54.96 homicides per 100,000 residents.

REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Venezuelan riot guards seen outside the Centro Occidental (Uribana) prison in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

19. Baltimore had 54.98 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police lined up shortly after the deadline for a city-wide curfew at North Ave and Pennsylvania Ave in Baltimore on April 30.

18. Maceio, Brazil, had 55.63 homicides per 100,000 residents.

AP

Hooded police officers on strike standing guard at a balcony during a clash with Brazilian army troops in downtown Maceio, in the northern state of Alagoas, some 1,500 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, in 1997.

17. Culiacan, Mexico, had 56.09 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Henry Romero/Reuters

Mexican federal police officers preparing to fly to Culiacan from Mexico City's airport in 2008.

16. João Pessoa, Brazil, had 58.40 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Flickr/Ben Tavener

Authorities seen in João Pessoa, Brazil.

15. St. Louis had 59.23 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Reuters

A man seen in early 2014 during rioting after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

14. Salvador, Brazil, had 60.63 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police patrolling in the Nordeste de Amaralina slum complex in Salvador, Bahia State, in 2013.

13. Natal, Brazil, had 60.66 homicides per 100,000 residents.

REUTERS/Leo Carioca

A bus pictured after an attack by suspected bandits in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state, on March 17.

12. Fortaleza, Brazil, had 60.77 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police officers frisking participants of a demonstration in Fortaleza, Brazil.

11. Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela, had 62.33 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Nicolas Maduro arriving to a campaign rally at the state of Amazonas, in this picture provided by Miraflores Palace on April 6, 2013.

10. Cali, Colombia, had 64.27 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Colombian police officers arresting three men during a raid, at Comuna 20 in Cali in 2013.

9. Cape Town, South Africa, had 65.53 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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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.

8. Palmira, Colombia, had 70.88 homicides per 100,000 residents.

REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga

A soldier standing guard alongside explosives confiscated by soldiers during a raid in Palmira, Colombia.

7. Valencia, Venezuela, had 72.31 homicides per 100,000 residents.

REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A family seen September 3 posing on the ruins of the house they had lived in for eight years, which was demolished by government officials during a security operation called "Operation to Free the People" in Valencia, Venezuela.

6. Distrito Central, Honduras, had 73.51 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Members of the military police during a parade in 2014 commemorating Independence Day in Tegucigalpa.

5. Maturin, Venezuela, had 86.45 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider

4. Acapulco, Mexico, had 104.73 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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Police officers and forensic technicians next to the dead, covered bodies of two men at a crime scene in Acapulco in 2012.

3. San Salvador, El Salvador, had 108.54 homicides per 100,000 residents.

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A suspected member of the Mara 18 street gang being arrested by Salvadoran police officer during an anti-gang operation in San Salvador in 2006.

2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras, had 111.03 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Fernando Antonio/AP

1. Caracas, Venezuela, had 119.87 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Reuters

An antigovernment protester setting up a barricade next to a burning kiosk during a protest at Altamira square in Caracas on March 9, 2014.

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