A team that included FIU’s Stephen Pires and Rob Guerette analyzed homicide patterns in Colombian municipalities to compare violence levels with the presence of environmental and geographical factors such as coca cultivation, gold mining, and transportation corridors.

They found that such environmental and geographic features were significant predictors of local murder rates, independent of the presence of armed actors such as revolutionary groups, terrorist groups, or organized crime cartels. Bottom of Form

They alsThey also found that “homicide rates in one municipality were significantly shaped by conditions in a neighboring one – particularly coca production and mining activity.”

• Stephen Pires
• Rob Guerette