The most dangerous cities in the world come to the fore with the security problem. It’s possible to have your wallet stolen or get food poisoning in any city, but there are places where tourists should be extremely careful.17 cities to watch out for…
1. Los Cabos – Mexico
Los Cabos is one of the most popular resort regions in the country but the U.S. State Department still recommends ‘increased caution’ for those visiting Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo. Proportionally, the municipality has the highest per capita murder rate on earth.
2. Caracas – Venezuela
Venezuelan capital Caracas, especially drug gangs adversely affect the city life. The government often clashes strongly with opposition protest groups. High robbery rates give tourists a hard time in the city.
3. Acapulco – Mexico
Acapulco was once the crown jewel of Mexican tourist towns, a beach resort popular with movie stars and moguls. But since its heyday in the 50s and 60s, drugs and crime have comprehensively ruined the place. As elsewhere, gangs have turned Acapulco’s beaches into dumping grounds for the corpses of their victims. Even worse, the police aren’t to be trusted.
4. Natal – Brazil
The city of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil, has become one of the most dangerous places on earth. According to local police, the explanation is the PCC (Premeiro Comando da Capital), the most powerful criminal organization in Brazil. Largely run from within the prison system, the PCC arrange fatal jail riots, rob banks, and smuggle drugs and arms to and from Paraguay and Bolivia. The punishment for anyone who betrays them is death.
5. Tijuana – Mexico
Tijuana is home to the world’s busiest land border crossing, with over 50 million people passing through it every single year. As with La Paz, the increasing brutality is a result of the downfall of ‘El Chapo’, whose Sinaloa cartel have come under attack from aggressive, opportunistic newcomers. Nearly 90% of these murder victims are reportedly low-level players in the drug game, but tourists should definitely be on their guard as well. Anyone can become an innocent bystander, and sadly, Tijuana has a well-deserved reputation as a city run by the cartels.
6. La Paz – Mexico
La Paz is the capital of Baja Caliornia Sur the southern half of the long peninsula on Mexico’s west coast that juts out into the Pacific. But it’s less famous than the nearby twin cities of Los Cabos, with their world-famous beaches. Once a peaceful province and one of Mexico’s most sparsely populated, the murder rate has exploded here as rival cartels fight for territory.
7. Fortaleza – Brazil
Fortaleza is perhaps most famous for its enticing urban beaches. Sadly, these are occluded by the city’s more infamous aspects. On top of the violence, Fortaleza is also notorious for prostitution. Foreign men can expect to be solicited, especially in the vicinity of Praia de Iracema. It’s worth remembering that Fortaleza sex workers are known for drugging their clients and then robbing them.
8. Ciudad Victoria – Mexico
Ciudad Victoria (Victoria City) is the capital of Tamaulipas province in northeastern Mexico, which borders Texas to the north and the Gulf to the east. Tamaulipas is part of the base of operations for the deadly Los Zetas cartel. The Zetas are considered the most dangerous gang in Mexico. They were formed in the 1990s by commandos of the Mexican Army who deserted in favor of the more profitable drug trade. Much of the violence in Ciudad Victoria undoubtedly involves this merciless syndicate.
9. Ciudad Guana – Venezuela
We don’t even have to get into the appallingly high murder rate in this case. In general, you simply shouldn’t visit Venezuela at this time. To begin with, it remains a hotspot for the Zika virus, so visitors are urged to take serious precautions on that score. But Zika is really the least of your worries if you’re visiting Venezuela. At the moment, the country is falling apart. Since oil prices collapsed in 2014, Venezuela has been in financial straits, and her new president, Nicolás Maduro, has been struggling to cling to power.
10. Belem – Brazil
Belem sits near the Amazon estuary. Apart from water, the Amazon river basin also carries cocaine from west to east, including to Belem, which makes an ideal port for trans-Atlantic drug shipping. However, as Brazil has become wealthier in recent years, it has become one of the world’s top consumers of cocaine in its own right. This emergent drug culture is undoubtedly one of the causes of the violence that wracks Brazil’s major centers.
11. Cape Town – South Africa
Cape Town is a dangerous city for tourists. The people in Cape Town, who look modern and rich, are in poor financial condition. For this reason, tourists who come to the city carries gold value for the people of the region.
12. The City of Guatemala – Guatemala
It is one of the most popular locations in the Caribbean. If you want to visit the Caribbean and prefer Guatemala; you should remember that there are too many drug gangs and bribers in the city. The police in the city is too weak to protect tourists.
13. San Salvador – El Salvador
Also known as the city of gangs, Sal Salvador is a city run by certain groups. In 2012, an average of 17 murders per day occurred in the city, where gangs were even stronger than the police. Due to the cease-fire with the police, the mortality rate has dropped to 5 per day. Sal Salvador is among the most dangerous cities for tourists.
14. Mogadishu – Somalia
Even the most famous travel platforms can warn you not to go for this city. Mogadishu is in a dangerous state for many different reasons. When you go here as a tourist, you should be really cautious.
15. Kabul – Afghanistan
The people of Kabul, who do not treat tourists from the West very warmly, are described as a withdrawn city due to religion, war and the discomfort of American soldiers. Even the use of the word American soldier can now be a cause of war for the people of Kabul. For this reason, every tourist from outside reminds the people of Kabul the war and the American soldiers. They don’t want tourists coming to their cities just because of this. It is good for you to stay away from this city.
16. San Pedro Sula – Honduras
In the central parts of the city, where drug use rates are high, tourists often experience theft. You should be careful when visiting San Pedro Sula, one of the most violent cities in the world.
17. Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
Among the dangerous cities are Rio de Janeiro. The city, which has the highest rape crime rates in the world, is known as an unreliable and dangerous city, although it hosts the Olympics. But if you want to visit this area, you should definitely stay away from Favela where even the local people have to be very careful.
