Gangs are everywhere these days. You can't go to any city in any country without there being some form of gang presence. That's just the way the world is now. The biggest gangs in the world tend to be involved with the drug trade which makes sense because that's how they make the majority of their money. It might surprise you to know that Columbia isn't even in the top 10 among countries with violent gang activity. After the death of Pablo Escobar, the country became a slightly safer place. It's still one of the top 2 producers of cocaine in the world, however. Even Italy, with its mafia, have fallen out of the top 10. So where are the worst gangs in the world now? Well, lets take a look at the top 5.
The 5 Countries With The Largest Gang Infestations In The World.
By
Michael Avery in
Facts
On 14th December 2017
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#5 You may want to avoid Guatemala.
With over a massive gang population, Guatemala has become a hotbed for gang activity. Guatemala makes up what is known as the "drug triangle" along with Honduras and El Salvador. The massive gang presence has caused the small Central American country to have the 10th highest murder rate in the world. That's pretty bad. MS-13 and 18th Street are the largest gangs in the country.
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#4 Mexico isn't what it used to be.
Over the last 10 years, Mexico has become a hotbed for gang activity. Nearly everyone has heard of El Chapo. His Sinaloa cartel is responsible for a large percentage of the drug trade and violence that pervades the country. Not to be outdone, the Zetas regularly fight with Sinaloa and other cartels for dominance over the Mexican drug trade. Since Americans consume more drugs than any other country in the world, it's important for these gangs to control the routes in and out of the country leading to more bloody battles.
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#3 Venezuela is a war zone in more ways than one.
Venezuela is plagued by gang activity. The capital city, Caracas, has the highest murder rate in the entire world. Add to that, the major civil war and government issues and you have a perfect recipe for expanding gang activity. There are around 2,600 murders in Caracas every year. With a death rate of 5 citizens a day, the country is dangerously at risk of being invaded by global drug cartels. If this comes to pass, the murder rate will sky rocket even further. The future doesn't look very pretty for Venezuela.
#2 Honduras isn't a nice place to visit.
Honduras is the second member of the previously mentioned "drug triangle." Drug trafficking is directly related to the amount of gang-related murders in the country. Most of the killing takes place along its Guatemalan border. Cocaine produced in Columbia and Peru travels through Guatemala then Honduras as heads towards the US where it's readily consumed by the heavy drug using population. As more cocaine was moved through the country, gangs rapidly increased in size and activity placing Honduras second on the list.
#1 If you're planning to visit El Salvador don't.
El Salvador has been a hotbed for criminal activity for a long time. It's buried in a long-running civil war that, along with the staggering amount of poverty, made it the country a perfect breeding ground for gangs focused around drug trafficking. Its government is corrupt at every level and the police are just as evil as the gangs, killing people regularly in questionable manners.
El Salvador is the murder capital of the world. Several thousand people are killed every year, mostly innocent bystanders caught up in the war between the gangs and the corrupt police. One of the largest gangs in the world, MS-13, actually started in the country and spread like a virus around the world. They now have over 100,000 members scattered around the globe. The saddest part of it all is that the gang started out as a way for the poor and oppressed people of the country to unite to fight back against the corrupt government.
