The Foreign Service Journal, May 2018

32 MAY 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Law and Disorder In addition to facilitating China and Russia’s inroads into Venezuela, the country’s turmoil has also undermined U.S. and Latin American efforts to combat the drug trade. Narcotraffickers have now shifted some of their operations to Venezuela, where ungoverned spaces and outright collusion with local authori- ties (including Venezuelan Vice President Tareck Aissami, who is linked to cocaine cartels) facilitate their activities. Because of the influx of drug traffickers, as well as the emergence of paramilitary groups and general lawlessness, Venezuela held the dubious distinction of having the highest murder rate per capita in the world in 2016. But concern over the crime rate extends far beyond Venezuela. Ask people almost anywhere in Latin America what their key concern is, and many will say crime. Fueled by widespread trafficking in drugs, weapons and people, as well as poverty and gangs, Latin America has become one of the most violent places on earth. In 2013, nearly one in every three murders in the world took place on the streets of Latin America—where just 8 percent of the world’s population lives. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s “Global Study on Homicide 2013,” which examined peacetime murder statistics from all over the world, ranked 13 Latin American countries among the top 20 most dangerous in the world; these included Honduras, Venezuela and Brazil. Latin American cities are particularly dangerous. According to the World Atlas , in 2017 the top three cities in the world with the highest murder rate per capita were all in Latin America; Los Cabos, Mexico, ranked first, followed by Caracas, Venezuela, and Acapulco, Mexico. In fact, of the top 50 most murderous cities, Latin America accounted for an astounding 90 percent (40 cit- ies). Most of these cities were concentrated in a few countries, notably Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Bolivia. A perception of governmental inability to combat crime is also widespread. The World Justice Project’s 2017 report ranked most Western Hemisphere countries near the bottom on its order and security index, with Venezuela at 110th out of 113 countries worldwide, and Colombia, Bolivia and Guatemala at 105, 101 and 100, respectively. The region’s ranking was even worse on the WJP’s Criminal Fueled by widespread trafficking in drugs, weapons and people, as well as poverty and gangs, Latin America has become one of the most violent places on earth. In Quito, protestors meet riot police during a demonstration against the policies of then-President Rafael Correa, in particular the inheritance tax laws introduced by his government, in 2015. CARLOSRODRIGUEZ/ANDES (FLICKR)[CCBY-SA2.0]/WIKIMEDIACOMMONS