Why the World's Murder Capital Is So Messed Up

Honduras has officially taken the crown as the world's most violence-riddled country, with an average of 20 people killed a day in a country the size of Tennessee, reports NPR, which took a trip there to get a look at what's causing all this killing. As in many other places in Latin America, much of the problem has to do with drug gangs, which have so thoroughly infiltrated law enforcement that even the country's police chief has been linked to extrajudicial killings.

The gangs are so fearless that on the day NPR visited, two major gangs held public press conferences—though on the bright side, they were announcing a cease-fire. Part of the reason it's so bad is that Honduras' undeveloped coastline makes it ideal for drug traffickers; 92% of cocaine flights to the US pass through Honduras. The other major problem is a government that's poor, weak, and riddled with corruption; it's unable to provide even basic services, and only 2% of criminal cases end in conviction. (More Honduras stories.)