Organized crime puts governments in Latin America and the Caribbean in check

Crime in Latin America is a structural and growing phenomenon that despite having decreased in some countries continues to represent the main threat in the region. A recent study by InSight Crime revealed that at least 121,695 people were murdered in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2024, putting the average murder rate at around 20.2 per 100.000 inhabitants.

According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), published in 2023 and cited by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the homicide rate in the region was three times higher than the global average: 18 versus 5.6 per 100.000 inhabitants.

Data collected by InSight Crime revealed that organized crime, particularly cocaine trafficking, has been the main factor in the increase in murders in the hemisphere over the past decade.

While the regional homicide rate has remained relatively stable over the past decade, the organization reported that the average murder rate in the Caribbean increased by 18.9%, while in South America it fell by 22.6%. Central America and Mexico experienced a dramatic 58% decline, thanks to a dramatic drop in murders in El Salvador, where the homicide rate plummeted by 98%.

The reduction in El Salvador, from 107 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to just 1.9 in 2024, significantly lowered the regional average, InSight Crime reported. Without the drastic drop in crime in that country, driven by the measures of President Nayib Bukele, the decline in the murder rate in Central America and Mexico would have been only 13%.

The Caribbean, a transit point for cocaine

InSight Crime reported that while most countries in the Caribbean recorded a decrease in homicide rates over the last decade, increases in Suriname (+406.7 %), Saint Lucia (+151.7 %) and Saint Kitts and Nevis (+6.7 %) raised the regional average.

According to the think tank, despite continuing to be an important transit point for cocaine destined for Europe and United States, the rise in violence in the Caribbean has not been directly driven by drug trafficking.

The study revealed that in Suriname the rise in murders could be related to the increasing use of firearms during robberies. Last year alone, violent robberies increased by 143% over 2023 and firearm-related crimes increased by 123%.

Conversely, authorities have noted that in St. Lucia gangs are fighting over drug trafficking corridors, which has led to an increase in murders and armed attacks. InSight Crime revealed that although St. Lucia maintained a relatively stable homicide rate in 2024 compared to the previous year, at 42.8%, the country surpassed its 2023 record for the number of murders, with two more last year.

In St. Kitts and Nevis local authorities have noted that violence escalates when gangs split into smaller factions, generating internal and territorial conflicts. Most of the victims are young men, linked to gang disputes and settling of scores involving drugs and weapons.

After breaking its homicide record in 2023, St. Kitts and Nevis recorded a drop in murders last year, with 59.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

InSight Crime also revealed that gang violence in Haiti continued to rise in 2024, continuing a trend that began with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. According to the organization, the country recorded a record number of homicides last year, with more than 7,000 murders and a rate of 62 per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 40.9 in 2023.

Haiti's biggest crime event last year was the emergence of an alliance of criminal gangs known as Viv Ansanm which gave criminal groups a platform to coordinate violence against the state and massacres against civilians.

Another Caribbean country hit by violence is Jamaica which in 2024 had a homicide rate of 40.1 per 100,000 inhabitants. Gang-related murders accounted for 67% of cases in 2023, but dropped to 60% in 2024.

Central America, cartel-controlled territory

According to the report, Central America and Mexico recorded the biggest drop in homicide rates with a 58% decrease, from 38.2 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 16.3 in 2024.

However, in Costa Rica, the increase in cocaine trafficking through its ports led to a 44% in homicides, while in Mexico the rate increased by 13.5% due to territorial disputes over control of drug and migrant trafficking routes.

InSight Crime revealed that between 2023 and 2024 much of the organized crime-related violence was concentrated in the southwestern border state of Chiapas, where the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel have been fighting over territory. According to the think tank, criminal groups have increasingly targeted civilians, leading to massive displacement.

Chiapas, along with Guerrero and Michoacan, also became epicenters of violence as the presidential elections approached and criminal groups sought to intimidate voters and eliminate candidates.

Following the arrest of the leaders of the Chapitos and the Mayiza, rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, tensions rose in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and violence erupted in September. On average, according to InSight Crime, there were around 39 murders in Culiacan in the first half of 2024. But, September saw 73 homicides, which increased to 116 in October and 115 in November.

For its part, Panama experienced a slight increase of 4% related to local gang rivalries. However, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize recorded substantial declines over the decade, with reductions of 58%, 48 % and 35 %, respectively.

According to InSight Crime, the changes in the average rate reflect national dynamics, but do not necessarily mean that fewer homicides occurred overall in 2024 than in 2015.

South America, between the Aragua Train and the drug trade

InSight Crime reported that the average homicide rate in the region decreased by 22.6% in the last decade. However, some countries registered upward trends despite having declared states of emergency to combat crime.

The governments of Ecuador and Chile recorded sharp increases in their murder rates. According to the think tank, from 2015 to 2024, Ecuador's increased by 546.7% and Chile's by 139.1%.

The increase in murders in Ecuador is linked to its role as amajor cocaine trafficking hub and the proliferation of criminal groups operating in the sector.

According to InSight Crime, the city of Duran has become the epicenter of crime in the South American country, with a homicide rate more than three times the national average.

According to the report, the militarization of the government's war against gangs in early 2024 further fragmented criminal groups, leading to a significant increase in violence.

InSight Crime claims that during this period, many gangs regrouped and adapted, becoming more autonomous and less dependent on their leaders. This change triggered violent clashes between increasingly fragmented groups vying for control of territories.

In Chile, the expansion of foreign gangs such as the Tren de Aragua (TDA) contributed to the growth of organized crime. The think tank reported that while other crimes have declined in the last decade, organized crime-related crimes have increased, which has strained the country's prison system.

In 2025, the Donald Trump administration catalogued the TDA as a foreign terrorist organization, allowing for financial and operational sanctions against its members. The FBI listed Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, considered a high-ranking leader of the Venezuelan gang, on its Top 10 Most Wanted List and raised the reward for his capture to $5 million.

Meanwhile, InSight Crime reported that some regions of Colombia have seen an increase in the number of violent murders as a result of organized crime.

In the department of Atlántico, on Colombia's Caribbean coast, homicides increased due to disputes between the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC) and the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN), which compete for control of the ports, where they load containers with drugs destined for Europe.

According to the think tank, in 2024 violence also increased due to the resumption of a criminal dispute in the Catatumbo region, a key cocaine production hub along the Venezuelan border.

In the case of Brazil, nearly 45,000 people were killed in 2024, including homicides, femicides and murders at the hands of police. In 2023, the country recorded more than 47,000 murders.

In late October, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, specifically in the Complexo do Alemão and Penha, a mega police operation was launched, with more than 2.500 agents deployed, against the Comando Vermelho gang to capture its leaders, leaving more than 132 dead and more than 80 arrested, according to the Public Defender's Office of Rio de Janeiro.

Venezuela, a country with unreliable data

InSight Crime reported that despite rising violence in some countries, Venezuela registered a 70.8% drop. However, the organization specified that although Venezuela's data is unreliable, its downward trend contributed to the overall decline in the region.

InSight Crime noted that the decline in violence in the Caribbean country is likely due to two factors. Firstly, as criminal economies have dried up in Venezuela, many of Venezuela's criminal groups such as the Tren de Aragua have moved abroad.

Official reports indicate that the TDA has expanded operations in 19 U.S. states, with drug trafficking, human trafficking and organized violence activities.

Second, several groups aligned with the Maduro regime have become dominant criminal actors in their territories of operation, so they no longer need to resort to violence to maintain control and defend themselves from rivals.