By Yarely Madrid
InSight Crime’s homicide tally reveals a dramatic shift in the regional violence map, with Central America experiencing historic declines while the Caribbean islands and new port enclaves in South America are consolidating their position as the continent’s deadliest hotspots
What was once touted as an “earthly paradise” now faces an unprecedented storm of violence. According to InSight Crime latest Homicide Report, the epicenter of crime in the Western Hemisphere has shifted; it is no longer just the large cartels of Mexico or the jungles of Colombia that dominate the death statistics, but the small island nations of the Caribbean.
Fragmentation and Chaos
The Caribbean is no longer a quiet transit zone. As InSight Crime points out, the region is suffering from “criminal fragmentation” where local gangs, armed with high-caliber rifles, fiercely fight for control of ports and routes.
The most heartbreaking case is Haiti (rate 62), where, with a 51.6% increase in homicides, the country has collapsed. According to the foundation’s report, “gangs are no longer just fighting for territory; they control the de facto state”, turning Puerto Principe into an urban war zone.
On the other hand, Suriname (382% increase) stands out as the year’s biggest negative surprise. The report highlights that this surge in violence is linked to new illegal gold and cocaine trafficking routes that previously did not pass through the country, which InSight Crime describes as an “expansion of organized crime’s frontiers”.
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Central America in Doubt
In the isthmus, the results are mixed and marked by aggressive security policies that the world is watching closely.
El Salvador registers the lowest rate in the region (1.9). However, InSight Crime is unequivocal regarding the veracity of these figures: “These official figures remain under scrutiny due to the exclusion of deaths in confrontations with the police and deaths in state custody”.
In contrast, Honduras achieved a notable reduction of 25.3%, lowering its rate to 26.8. However, the organization warns that extortion remains the “parallel economy” that the government has failed to dismantle, keeping the country as the most violent in continental Central America.
Guatemala, for its part, remains stable (rate 16.1), but with a red alert. The report indicates that almost 90% of the victims are young men, reflecting a generational crisis of violence.
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South America and the War for Ports
In the south, the landscape is one of resistance and new crises, with Ecuador as the main focus of attention.
Ecuador and the “Durán Effect”: Despite national militarization, port cities like Durán registered figures reminiscent of war. InSight Crime states that “Ecuador illustrates the tragedy of port states”, where the struggle to export cocaine to Europe has driven assassination rates to historic levels.
Peru (35.9% increase) is the South American country of greatest concern. Violence has ceased to be confined to rural areas and has spilled onto the streets of major cities through aggressive extortion.
Colombia, on the other hand, saw a slight improvement (-1.9%), but the social control exerted by armed groups in coca-growing regions prevents the figure from decreasing significantly.
InSight Crime’s analysis concludes that we are facing a “metastatic” violence. The Caribbean is today the bloodiest region not because it has the largest cartels, but because it has the most fragmented and difficult-to-control gangs. Security in Latin America is no longer a border problem, but rather a matter of a criminal network that adapts to every port and every island.
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