Latin America Security by the Numbers

08/01/13
Victor Salcedo
Latin America and the Caribbean
U.S. Policy, Security, Politics and Security

This post was written with CIP intern Victor Salcedo

United States policy

  • On July 26, the United States donated $5.7 million worth of speed boats, equipment and facility construction to the Nicaraguan Navy to aid the country’s fight against drug trafficking. This included two speed boats (Boston Whaler, model 370) with their respective haul trucks (Ford 450XLT) valued at $1.2 million. Five U.S.-trained Nicaraguan sailors will operate and maintain the boats, reports U.S. Southern Command.
  • “President Barack Obama proposed giving Colombia about $323 million in aid next year, mostly to combat drug trafficking and violence. Detroit, with an 81 percent higher homicide rate, will get $108.2 million,” Bloomberg News reported.
  • Over 70 percent of the 99,000 weapons recovered by Mexican law enforcement since 2007 were traced to U.S. manufacturers and importers, according to a new Council on Foreign Relations report on gun trafficking and violence in the Americas. ETrace data from 2011 for the Caribbean indicated that over 90 percent of the weapons recovered and traced in the Bahamas and over 80 percent of those in Jamaica came from the United States. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has not released data from Central America.

Colombia

  • The Colombian Air Force will be adding two “more advanced” drone aircraft from Israel to its fleet in October. It is also working on its own drone aircraft called “Iris” that will start to fly next week. Colombia’s Air Force currently has over 50 drones, purchased from the United Kingdom, which it disclosed would begin to be used to monitor borders and cities, combat illegal armed groups and drug trafficking, and respond to natural disasters.
  • Since 1986 the Colombian Army has killed 3,896 civilians who were then presented as combat kills, in an attempt by military members to inflate their success rate against the guerillas, Colombia’s Prosecutor General Office confirmed Monday, according to Colombia Reports. A report released last week found that of the 220,00 Colombians killed in the conflict between 1958 and 2013, 176,000, or about 80 percent, were civilians.

Honduras

  • According to the National Autonomous University of Honduras, there were 2,929 murders during the first five months of 2013. This represents a 3.7 percent drop in homicides compared to the same period in 2012, when 3,043 killings were registered. The Observatory also counted 16 days (not contiguous) in 2013 in which Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital, had not registered a violent death. San Pedro Sula, the city with the highest murder rate in the world, has only experienced two murder-free days this year according to the Observatory, although the government registered three such days.
  • Honduran gangs now have a presence in 40 percent of the country's territory, the Associated Press reported. Officials estimate that the gangs obtain about $50 million from extorting small businesses, taxi drivers, teachers, and others. According to Honduran government numbers, 17,000 small businesses closed in 2012.

Mexico

  • According to the Mexican government, a total of 244 public servants, including 14 soldiers, were murdered during the first six months of 2013. As InSight Crime notes, this high number was possibly tied to violence related to recent elections.
  • There has been a recent spike in violence in Mexico’s western Michoacán state as drug cartels battle themselves and security forces. The past week has seen a wave of attacks in response to the government security surge, including at least eight guerrilla-style ambushes by gunmen in which at least eight federal police officers were killed, over 20 criminals shot dead, and many more wounded. The Mexican government has reportedly deployed an additional 2,000 soldiers and police to the state, following the 6000-strong military and police surge President Peña Nieto ordered in May.

Brazil

  • Over the past decade, the homicide rate in the Brazilian state of São Paulo has dropped by 63 percent and fallen by 80 percent in city of São Paulo, the state’s capital. Human Rights Watch also reported that while police killings in the state decreased by about 34 percent during the first six months of 2013, there were still a registered six killings per week in the first semester of 2013.
  • The northeast region of Brazil has the most violent cities for the country’s youth. According to the Mapa da Violencia (pdf) 2013 published this month, youth homicide grew by 326 percent in the country.
  • According to the Financial Times, the Brazilian government mobilized 14,000 troops and over 7,000 police for Pope Francis’ visit. The overall cost of the trip and week-long youth festival ranged from $145 million to $159 million, the Associated Press reported.