Column Chronicles: The latest list of most dangerous cities

The latest list of most dangerous cities

Frank Cotolo
January 14, 2016

Every year, a list of dangerous cities is released to travel agencies around the world. Crime records throughout the preceding year measure these cities' dangers.

The latest list has been published and prospective travelers are encouraged to make themselves aware of these places before they plan vacations this year.

First on the list is San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Though it is a lovely city with a tropical climate, homicides are commonplace every day and in broad daylight. Murderers seem to move there and are said to have competitions to see who can kill more people. Sometimes tourists are "off limits" in such competitions, making visitors able to enjoy the great sites of the city. Ask your travel agent to find out when the killing sprees only involve whacking locals.

Next on the list is Acapulco, Mexico. Because millionaires have been known to visit the city often, thieves are attracted to robbing the rich folks. Unfortunately, the robbers don't always know which people are rich and which are not, no less who lives in the city, so they attack people at random, hoping they are millionaires. If disappointed, the robbers have been known to rape their victims and steal their wristwatch bands.

Then, Caracas, Venezuela checks in as the third most dangerous city. The police in Caracas are so inept that not one murder has been solved since 1934 and that resulted from a confession. Many killings are the products of armed robberies. It is not clear why the criminals involved desire to rob people's arms, though it is considered a demented practice.

Then we go back to Honduras, where the city of Tegusigalpa comes in fourth. An astounding 83.4 people visiting this picturesque city are murdered, especially if they ride bicycles before or after dark.

In Maceio, Brazil, the terrible crimes on humanity are blamed on the high humidity. In the tropical monsoon climate, madness is a normal state of mind to reach. There are specific warnings posted in 24 languages on the sandy beaches that encourage people not to walk barefoot, since unbearable heat that enters the body from the bottom of the feet can cause a person to become so crazed that it is not uncommon for any one to kill at least five people, three that are twice his or her size.

Capping the top few most dangerous cities is Havana, Cuba. The drug cartels headquartered in Havana include scurrilous characters, most identified easily by the long scars on their faces. These people, including some fiercely beautiful women, are apt to strike at anyone looking at them "the wrong way," or as is said in Spanish, "el incorrecto looko." Lots of the murders, however, are of drug dealers that are members from opposing cartels but there is a high rate of collateral deaths because duels to the deaths happen in dense city streets, many near cafes that begin with the letter "F."

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.