Sharp rise in murders in Uruguay raises security concerns

Uruguay recorded a record number of murders in 2018, with a 35 per cent increase to 382, according to a study published on Thursday. That amounts to 11.2 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the report by the Fundapro foundation, which has close ties to the opposition Partido Colorado, published in Thursday's edition of the El Pais newspaper.

In 2017, there were 283 murders, already an increase of 5.6 per cent on the previous year. The government blames a significant proportion of the increased murder rate on fighting between criminal gangs. However, back in August the InSight Crime website, which studies organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, said "there are probably a variety of factors contributing to" the increase. It also noted that Uruguay remains "one of Latin America's safest countries and often the country of choice for criminals searching for a safe haven rather than a battleground."

According to a study by the Inter-American Development Bank published in November, the murder rate across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017 was 22 per 100,000 inhabitants, double that of Uruguay's a year later. It comes at a time when Uruguay's unemployment (8.6 per cent) and inflation (8.05) figures are on the rise.

(With inputs from agencies.)