20 Mexican cities, 5 in US among 50 most dangerous in the world

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The annual index put out by Mexico’s Citizens Council for Public Safety and Justice shows 20 Mexican cities are among the top-50 most dangerous metropolitan areas worldwide, including the cities of Acapulco and Tijuana.

The list was compiled in accordance with the number of homicides for every 100,000 residents, said José Antonio Ortega, the group’s president.

At the top of the list is Haiti’s Port-au-Prince, followed by five cities in Mexico: Colima, Manzanillo, Acapulco, Tijuana and Ciudad Obregón.

Rounding out the top ten are Machala, Ecuador: Celaya, Mexico; Zamora, Mexico; Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.

Other Mexican cities making the top-50 most dangerous cities in the world list include Culiacán, Chilpancingo, Villahermosa, Tapachula, Cuernavaca, Ciudad Juárez, Uruapan, Irapuato, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, León and Morelia.

Over all the list includes:

1. Port-au-Prince, Haiti
2. Colima, Mexico
3. Acapulco, Mexico
4. Manzanillo, Mexico
5. Tijuana, Mexico
6. Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
7. Machala, Ecuador
8. Celaya, Mexico
9. Zamora, Mexico
10. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
11. Cuernavaca, Mexico
12. Guayaquil, Ecuador
13. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
14. Mandela Bay, South Africa
15. Manabí, Ecuador
16. Cape Town, South Africa
17. Culiacán, Mexico
18. Buffalo, South Africa
19. Uruapan, Mexico
20. Durban, South Africa
21. Irapuato, Mexico
22. Feira de Santana, Brazil
23. Johannesburg, South Africa
24. Kingston, Jamaica
25. Memphis, Tennessee
26. Santa Maria, Colombia
27. Chihuahua, Mexico
28. Chilpancingo, Mexico
29. Cali, Colombia
30. Zacatecas, Mexico
31. Recife, Brazil
32. León, Mexico
33. Palmira, Colombia
34. Fortaleza, Brazil
35. Salvador Bahia, Brazil
36. Barranquilla, Colombia
37. Tapachula, Mexico
38. Benito Juárez, Mexico
39. Cúcuta, Colombia
40. Baltimore, United States
41. Maceió, Brazil
42. Mexico City, Mexico
43. Cartagena, Colombia
44. Porto Velho, Brazil
45. New Orleans, United States
46. Detroit, United States
47. Manaus, Brazil
48. Cleveland, United States
49. Morelia, Mexico
50. Caruaru, Brazil

Mexico closed out 2024 with 30,057 homicides, a 1.2 percent increase from the previous year.