Brazil has seen its homicide rate skyrocket in recent years as rival drug gangs fight for territory in a country that borders the three biggest cocaine-producing nations in the world and is a main exit point for drugs smuggled to Europe and Asia. Data from independent research organization Brazilian Public Security Forum shows that Brazil registered 63,880 homicides in 2017, the highest one-year-total ever recorded in the nation and an increase of 3% over the previous year. Ceará, located along one of the country’s main drug smuggling routes, has the third highest homicide rate in Brazil, at 59.1 murders for every 100,000 residents.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times