The Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice presented its annual index for 2024, revealing that 20 of the 50 most violent cities in the world are located in Mexico. The president of the organization, José Antonio Ortega, highlighted that in 2019 the maximum number of Mexican cities in the classification was 19, but this latest report has surpassed that number.
Among the 10 most violent cities of 2024, seven are Mexican. The ranking is led by Port-au-Prince in Haiti, with a rate of 139.31 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. It is followed by five Mexican cities: Colima, Acapulco, Manzanillo, Tijuana, and Ciudad Obregón. These cities occupy the top positions, demonstrating the concentration of violence in various areas of the country.
In contrast, Honduran cities that used to be on the list, such as San Pedro Sula and Central District, are no longer present in 2024. This has resulted in no Central American city being among the 50 most violent in the world, as pointed out by René Bolio Halloran from the Mexican Commission on Human Rights.
The increase in the number of intentional homicides in Mexico during the year 2024 has also been mentioned. The country closed the year with 30,057 cases, a 1.2% increase compared to the previous year. Data from SESNSP shows a gradual increase in violence, reflecting the worrying situation in some regions.
The presence of Culiacán on the list is highlighted, a city where a war between drug trafficking factions recently broke out. Additionally, other cities such as Chilpancingo, Villahermosa, and Tapachula entered the ranking, while some like Cuernavaca, Ciudad Juárez, Uruapan, among others, remained in it.
In total, 45 of the 50 most violent cities are located in America, with Mexico leading the list in the presence of urban areas. Civil organizations, such as Misión Rescate México, have emphasized that the concentration of violence in cities is a serious problem that requires urgent attention. The number of homicides in these cities represents a significant part of global records, evidencing the magnitude of the problem.
