Brasilia, Jan 26 (IANS) Twenty-one of the 50 most violent cities in the world are located in Brazil, according to a Mexican NGO.
The NGO, Citizen Council for Public Security and Penal Justice, on Monday ranked cities with a total of over 300,000 inhabitants away from war zones by their murder rates in 2015, Xinhua reported.
Caracas topped the list. Venezuela has a murder rate of 119.87 murders per every 100,000 inhabitants. San Pedro Sula in Honduras ranked second, followed by San Salvador, El Salvador's capital.
Out of the 21 Brazilian cities on the list, Fortaleza, in the northeastern region, was at the top. It was followed by Natal (13th), Salvador (14th) and Joao Pessoa (16th).
Surprisingly, Brazil's largest cities Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which are widely regarded as very violent, did not show up in the list.
According to the NGO, South America has 32 violent cities, the highest number among all continents.
