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Research Article Volume 9 Issue 1
Epidemics of drug gang murders? Spatial and spatial-temporal patterning of homicide in a Latin American city (Montevideo)
Javier Donnangelo
Received: May 17, 2026 | Published: June 2, 2026
Citation: Donnangelo J. Epidemics of drug gang murders? Spatial and spatial-temporal patterning of homicide in a Latin American city (Montevideo). Open Access J Sci. 2026;9(1):252-261. DOI: 10.15406/oajs.2026.09.00309
Abstract
Despite economic, political and social gains after the years of dictatorial regimes and civil wars in the 1980s, the Latin American region has experienced increasing levels of violence and criminality that place it among the most violent in the world. However, despite this obvious importance and scientific relevance, it remains an understudied setting. The present study addresses the rise in homicide levels in one Latin American city (Montevideo), seeking to understand the nature of trends of increasing violence. To this aim, it uses Spatial Data Analysis and epidemiological techniques to explore in detail patterns of homicide location clustering and space-time association of homicide events. The findings show increasing levels of spatial autocorrelation and space-time association of homicides, suggesting that the spatial process at work behind the increase in violence might be one of Diffusion or contagion. This, in turn, would seem to lend some support to widespread views and scattered evidence that the rise in lethal violence could reflect an emerging gang problem centered around the retail distribution of drugs, particularly a local form of crack cocaine.
Keywords: drugs, gangs, homicide, Latin America, epidemic
©2026 Donnangelo. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.