10. CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO
Mexico is well known for drug trafficking, and Ciudad Juarez
has been one of the nation’s most violent cities. Police are often employed or
paid off by drug gangs resulting in hundreds if not thousand crimes going
unsolved every year. However this has been improving in recent years and
murders are down from 3,111 in 2010 to 730 in 2012. While these numbers are
still very scary, hopefully it shows a road to recovery for the city.
9. CARACAS, VENEZUELA
The capital of Venezuela, Caracas is currently facing a very
serious crisis involving drug gangs. Crime rate in general including muggings
and theft is also very high, making this an undesirable location for tourism.
Since the election of current president Hugo Chavez in 1998, murder rates have
more than doubled and in 2008 Caracas won the award for “Murder Capital of the
world” by Foreign Policy. I’m not so sure there should be an award for such a
thing myself, but this shows how serious the problem in Caracas really is.
8. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
While South Africa is a tourism magnet due to it’s natural
beauty and close proximity to nature preserves and other attractions, Cape Town
can be a very dangerous city at the moment. A high level of poverty around some
section is responsible for an extremely high crime rate, and many tourists go
there and never return. However, it is possible to visit Cape Town as long as
you avoid the more dangerous sections and don’t travel alone at night.
7. GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA
Guatemala is a nation located in the Caribbean and it has
many tourist attractions, Guatemala City is unfortunately not one of them. The
city is plagued with drug violence and has a high murder rate, along with many
robberies, Carjacking and bus holdups. It’s advisable to stay away from this
city if you’re thinking of visiting Guatemala, or if you must visit precautions
should be taken such as not travelling in the dark, keeping valuable to a
minimum and avoiding buses if possible.
6. ACUPULCO, MEXICO
Not long ago this city was considered a safe and luxurious
resort area. However, since then drug violence has transformed this into a very
dangerous area indeed. Statistically, Acapulco holds one of the world’s highest
murder rates with 142 murders per 100,000 people. Visitors of this city are
advised to stay on the property of the resorts they’re visiting, as a majority
of the crime occurs in the surrounding areas.
5. BAGHDAD, IRAG
Iraq has been on the “Do Not Travel” list for Americans for
many years now, and it’s not looking like that’s going to change any time soon.
Bombings, gunfire and unpredictable outbreaks of terrorism make this one of the
most dangerous cities in the world. The future of Iraq as a nation is currently
very uncertain, with US troops departing from the country, and for the
foreseeable future, this is not a city anyone should visit without a good
reason.
4. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Kabul is in a very similar situation to Baghdad at the
moment. Violence and terrorism can occur at any time, and this is likely to be
a dangerous place for quite a while. Currently it’s still a war zone, through
US troops are slowly being removed from the country. Terrorist attacks,
including bombings are still very common. If you’re looking to visit
Afghanistan in the near future, Kabul may be a city to avoid.
3. SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS
A mortician from San Pedro told The Guardian “Satan Himself
lives here in San Pedro” With a murder rate of 187 per 100,000 people, San
Pedro Sula was named the world’s most violent city by a study made in Mexico in
2014. Arms and drug trafficking have flooded the country, contributing to an
increasingly high level of gang violence. This is further made worse by
civilians being able to legally own up to five personal firearms, along with
corruption and poverty throughout the city this doesn’t make for a peaceful
life. Furthermore, inmates have controlled all 24 prisons in Honduras since the
government gave up on rehabilitating convicts.
2. KARACHI, PAKISTAN
Pakistan is experiencing a great deal of political unrest,
with assassinations, suicide bombings and gang warfare, Karachi is one of the
centers of the violence in the country and tourists are advised to avoid this
city. Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and is home to around 23 million
people making it the second largest city by population in the world. While its
murder rate is not as high as many of the other spots on this list, Karachi is
the most dangerous of the world’s largest cities, none of the other 13 largest
cities in the world come close to Karachi’s murder rate.
1 MOSUL- IRAQ
In June 2014, Mosul was overtaken by the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Since then, Mosul has been arguably the most
dangerous city in the world, with car bombings, suicide bombings,
assassinations and random shootings. In August 2014 the Mosul Dam was captured
by ISIS militants, which became a serious concern as the destruction of the Dam
would result in a 66ft wave of water which would’ve destroyed Mosul and other
towns nearby. Fortunately the Dam was re-captured by Iraqi and Kurdish forces
and is now back in safe hands, but regardless, Mosul in its current state is a
place you definitely want to visit.
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