Crime, violence of Latin America, Caribbean growth

Washington, April 28, 2025 – According to the youngest Latin America in the World Bank and the Caribbean Economic Review (Lacer), organized crimes and violence have become a central obstacle to the development in Latin America and in the Caribbean that were presented today.

The report entitled “Organized Crimes and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean” underlines how these problems tighten the region that has already been fragile economic landscape. Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to grow by 2.1 percent in 2025 and in 2026 by 2.4 percent, which as the slowest region, the slowest region, will be the slowest region.

The region reaches with an alarming high level of fatal violence in connection with organized crimes. The victimization rates are three times higher than in the global average, with the murse rates eight times as high as the global average.

The report describes several factors that contribute to the increase in organized crime, including the escalating worldwide demand for illegal goods, the government's procedures that have receded criminal networks, and the Covid 19 pandemy that enabled these groups to consolidate their power in areas in which the presence of the state is weak.

“The organized crime quickly gets into the region, exceeds domestic borders and becomes an ubiquitous threat. This is no longer an isolated topic. It requires a regional and global dialogue to increase solutions and mobilize our collective specialist knowledge and our resources,” said Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, Vice President for Latin America and The Caribbean -atthe banks.

This distribution has clear development consequences. The report describes how it endangers public security, suppresses economic growth and undermines the integrity of public institutions. The uncertainty in relation to property rights, widespread extortion and omnipresent uncertainty increases the transaction costs for companies and undermines competitiveness. In addition, the distraction of public security resources from essential services such as countries of health and education, which are already confronted with high debts and fiscal challenges.

“The fight against organized crime is not just a problem of prosecution. It is a development priority. It undermines the government, distorts the investments and tightens inequality. We have to tackle this topic head -on to prevent it from becoming a constant growth disorder,” said William Maloney, chief economist for Latin America and Caribbean on the world bank.

In order to cope with these challenges, the report calls for a robust agenda to improve state capacity against organized crime, including police reform, improved prison systems and strengthened judicial processes. Well -equipped institutions are the key to achieving growth and development in the region.

Economic policy also plays a crucial role in combating organized crime, promoting growth and work reforms and at the same time young people through improved training and training. These initiatives increase the opportunities for crime and reduce their jobs.

Finally, the report emphasizes the need for long -term research to inform government measures because the lack of regular, comparable surveys affects the development of effective guidelines.