26, Apr 2018 | CJP Team

According to a report from the Igarapé Institute, a Brazilian think tank, 2.5 million murders have taken place in Latin American since the year 2000, the Guardian reported. “The sheer dimensions of homicidal violence are breathtaking,” the report says. Latin America is home to just 8% of the global population, but sees 33% of the world’s murders. 25% of the world’s homicides occur in just four countries–Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. Robert Muggah, the Igarape Institute’s research director and one of the report’s authors said, “The overall trend right now in Latin America is one of increasing homicides and deteriorating security”. He explained that “Latin America is a large area and there are lots of variations. But as a region – including Mexico down to Central America and South America – the rate of homicide is set to continue increasing up until 2030. The only other places we are seeing similar kinds of increases are in parts of southern and central Africa and some war zones.” According to the report, almost 50% of the victims of the murders are aged between 15 and 29. Muggah said that more than 75% of the murders “are gun-related”. In contrast, the global average is around 40%.