International

Mexico has 20 of the 50 most violent cities in the world

The annual index of the Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice of 2024, presented this Wednesday in the Mexican capital, determined that of the 50 most violent cities in the world, 20 are in Mexico, including the tourist Acapulco (south) and the border Tijuana (northwest).

“The maximum number of violent cities in Mexico in the ranking so far had been in 2019, with 19 cities,” said José Antonio Ortega, president of the organization, at a press conference.

Likewise, Ortega stressed that of the 10 most violent cities in 2024, seven are in Mexico.

Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, leads the index, with 139.31 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the ‘Ranking 2024 of the 50 most violent cities in the world’.

Then, five Mexican cities continue the list, starting with Colima (west), which in 2022 and 2023 had topped the world index, and in 2024 recorded 126.95 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

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Immediately, there are the Acapulco tourist resort, with a rate of 102.28 homicides; Manzanillo (west), with 92.17; Tijuana, border with the United States, with 91.35; and Ciudad Obregón (north), with 89.2.

In the top 10 are also the Ecuadorian Machala, the Mexicans Celaya and Zamora, and Puerto España, in Trinidad and Tobago.

In contrast, in 2024, the Honduran San Pedro Sula and Distrito Central left the classification, which for several years were in the first places on the list.

“In this way, no city in Central America is among the 50 most violent in the world,” said René Bolio Halloran, of the Mexican Human Rights Commission.

Bolio pointed out that “to obtain these remarkable achievements, the respective governments did not use excuses, such as poverty, high drug consumption in developed nations or that criminals obtain weapons from the United States.”

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“Nor did they resort to negotiating with those who caused the violence, nor did they follow the policy of ‘hugs, not bullets’, or something similar,” he added, referring to the phrase of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024).

Mexico closed 2024 with a total of 30,057 intentional homicides, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, equivalent to 344 more cases compared to the 29,713 recorded in 2023, according to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).

Among the violent cities in Mexico that re-entered the list is Culiacán (state of Sinaloa), where last September a war broke out between the main factions of the homonymous cartel, after the capture of capos Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in the United States.

The Mexicans Chilpancingo, Villahermosa and Tapachula also entered, and remained on the list, Cuernavaca, Ciudad Juárez, Uruapan, Irapuato, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, León, Cancun and Morelia.

Followed by Mexico, the countries with the most cities in the index were Brazil (8), Colombia (6), South Africa (5), the United States (5), Ecuador (3), Haiti (1), Jamaica (1) and Trinidad and Tobago (1).

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In addition, 45 of the 50 cities are in the American continent and the rest in Africa.

For his part, Horacio Rodríguez, of Misión Rescate Mexico, explained that the 50 cities total 40,198 homicides.

He added that this amount of homicides represents 8.2% of the 490,000 that the World Health Organization estimates to occur worldwide, while the sum of inhabitants of these cities represents only 0.91% of the world position.

Throughout Mexico, he said, the average homicide rate in 2024 “is nine times higher than the global average rate of 6.2, which gives an idea of the concentration of violence in the cities of this ranking.”

Finally, Ortega clarified that violence due to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine is not included; and it does not include the missing people, which in 2024 in Mexico were more than 13,000, according to official figures.

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International

U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.

The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.

The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.

“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

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International

Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.

“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.

Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.

According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.

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International

Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power

Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.

The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.

Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.

Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.

The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.

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Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.

Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.

In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.