Meanwhile, some craziness in another part of the world: the stats in this WSJ story late last week on the homicide surge in Latin America are insane. It's gotta be one of the most under-covered stories on the planet now, given the life-and-death stakes. wsj.com/articles/400-m…
"With just 8% of the world’s population, Latin America accounts for roughly one third of global murders. Nearly one in every four murders around the world takes place in just four countries: Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia."
"Last year, a record 63,808 people were murdered in Brazil. Mexico also set a record at 31,174, with murders so far this year up another 20%."
"At the Acapulco morgue, bodies pile up faster than workers can process them. ...356 bodies that remain unclaimed or unidentified were stuffed into five refrigeration units. The smell of death hung in the air."
"....Two trailer trucks filled with more than 150 cadavers each were roaming Mexico’s second-largest city of Guadalajara for days because the morgue was too full. Officials admitted the trucks contained corpses after neighbors complained of the smell and dripping blood."
"Latin America accounts for 43 of the 50 most murderous cities, including the entire top 10...South Africa and the U.S.—where St. Louis ranks No. 19—are the only countries outside Latin America that crack the top 50."
"At current murder rates, if you live in Acapulco (or Caracas, Venezuela, or San Salvador) for 70 years, there is a roughly 1-in-10 chance you will get murdered." !!!
"Between 2000 and 2017, roughly 2.5 million people were murdered in Latin America and the Caribbean, as if Chicago were wiped out. That compares with 900K killed in the conflicts of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan combined, according to U.N. figures and estimates by Iraq Body Count."
"Mexico’s murder tally may be underreported because many victims are tossed into unmarked graves, burned or put through sugar-cane grinders....The sheer number of the missing could outnumber better-known cases of 'disappeared,' including Argentina’s Dirty War against leftists."
Finally, I should've credited the reporter on this great and necessary piece at the outset: @davidluhnow.
