But, the truth is Belize exists at the crossroads of the most violent regions in the world. Roughly one third of the world's homicides happen in Latin America and the Caribbean, which home to just 8% of the global population. And, "when measured by homicide rate, 14 of the 20 most dangerous countries in the world are…in Latin America and the Caribbean."

And that was amply demonstrated in 2018, when - preliminary figures show - that Jamaica was the highest in the Caribbean with a murder rate of 45.3, after recording 1,281 murders. Trinidad finished with a murder rate of 38 per hundred thousand form its 516 murders. The Bahamas had its lowest murder count in 9 years, for a murder rate of 23. Saint Lucia was also down, with 41 murders for a rate of 22.9 homicides per hundred thousand.

And in our immediate region, our neighbors, again, had some of the highest murder rates in the world. Honduras had a murder rate of 40, with its 3,767 numbers. It is high, but HALF of what it was 5 years ago - so their murder rate is falling fast. The same can be said in El Salvador, which will probably have the second highest murder rate in the world with 50 murders per hundred thousand, but that, again is significantly down from 5 years ago.

Even Venezuela - which is highest in the world again this year has shown a marked decrease to a still frighteningly high 81.4 homicides per one hundred thousand residents.

Notably, Belize's murder rate is just about even with South Africa - which is among the most violent countries on the African continent.