The tenth annual edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) revealed that the attacks are deadlierwith a 26% more fatalities in each incidentwhich represents the first increase in lethality in five years.
In South America, “there was a general improvement in the impact of terrorism During the past year”. The report states that seven countries improved their scores and two were unchanged.
Chile and Argentina were the only countries in the region that worsened between 2021 and 2022. The total number of deaths from terrorism fell in the area by a 69%from 97 in 2021 to 30 in 2022, the lowest annual figure for at least the last decade.
However, “the overall level of terrorism remains much higher than a decade agowith Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina increasing their levels of terrorism in 2022 compared to 2012.” In total, there have been 1,919 deaths from terrorism in South America since 2007.
Hezbollah in the region
The text warns about “the role played by counterfeiting in the financing of hezbollah has been repeatedly demonstrated, as has the interest that the organization shares in this traffic with the terrorist group Al Barakat in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay”.
It gives a historical account of the activities of the Lebanese group in the area since February 2000, when “a individual suspected of raising funds for Hezbollah was arrested for hacking. Authorities discovered that the defendant also sold audio CDs and video games for finance an organization affiliated with the terrorist group”.
The report recalls that some of these discs “contained images and films of terrorist attacks and interviews with terrorists, and were used as Hezbollah propaganda. The counterfeit goods were initially shipped by Hezbollah to a free zone in South America and then smuggled into a third country to avoid import duties.”
The route to financing the group was closed with the sale through a network of supporters and activists in the Middle East, and the profits generated “were finally delivered to Hezbollah,” the report states.
“In 2004, US intelligence services began to track the profits from the sale of counterfeit products from Paraguay and also discovered that a Hezbollah cell was involved,” the text adds.
Colombia
“Colombia has the greatest impact of terrorism in the regiona position it has held for the past decade, despite a slight improvement between 2012 and 2022. Deaths from terrorism decreased from 78 in 2021 to 21 in 2022, and the number of incidents also dropped from 75 to 45. Of the deaths registered in 2022, 16 were attributed to the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), and the National Liberation Army (ELN) was responsible for the remaining five deaths. However, the ELN was responsible for more incidents than the FARC, launching 62% of the attacks in 2022,” the text maintains.
On the other hand, Mexico is the only country in Central America that registers terrorist activity since 2015. It is also the one with the worst results since 2007.
No country worsened in the region, as 11 out of 12 countries recorded a score of zero on the GTI 2023, meaning they have not experienced a single terrorist incident in five years.
“Terrorism in Mexico has historically been ideologically motivatedwith the criminal activity of the cartels not included as terrorism in this report. Violence against politicians and journalists also continues to threaten Mexicowith many murders committed”, reveals the GTI report.
The remaining 11 countries in Central America and the Caribbean have not been affected by terrorism since 2017, despite the fact that “El Salvador and the Central American region in general regularly register the highest homicide rates in the world”.
For his part, North America registered the most substantial improvement in GTI score in 2022with a decrease of 10% in the last year, due to the fact that Canada recorded no attacks or deaths for the first time since 2013. Deaths from terrorism increased slightly in USA, from seven in 2021 to eleven in 2022. “The attacks remained static, with eight attacks registered for the second consecutive year. Overall, the fatality rate from attacks in North America increased from 0.9 deaths per attack in 2021 to 1.4 deaths per attack in 2022, the highest level since 2018,” the Global Terrorism Index report states.
What happened in the rest of the world
– The attacks have become more deadly, with an increase in fatality of 26%.
– Deaths from terrorism have fallen by 9%, although this is attributed to the transition of the Taliban from a terrorist group to a state actor*.
– Outside of Afghanistan, deaths from terrorism increased by 4% in the rest of the world.
– The Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates continued to be the deadliest terrorist group in the world in 2022 for the eighth consecutive year, with attacks in 21 countries.
– Deaths from attacks by unknown jihadists globally are eight times higher than in 2017, accounting for 32% of all deaths from terrorism and 18 times higher in the Sahel.
– The Sahel is the most impacted region, representing 43% of deaths from global terrorism, 7% more than the previous year.
– The decline in terrorism in the West is faced with the intensification of attacks in other regions.
– Terrorism thrives in countries with poor ecologies and climate-induced disturbances.
– Drone technology and its use continue to evolve rapidly, especially with groups like IS, Boko Haram and the Houthis.
“While the conflict in Ukraine consumes the world’s attention and resources, it is crucial that the global fight against terrorism remains high on the political agenda. As its nature evolves, it is imperative that the international community’s response continue to evolve. This is no time for complacency, and the loss of attention will lead to an increase in the terrorist threat in the future. The fight against terrorism is one of the few areas where the world’s superpowers have a common goal“, he claimed steve killeleafounder and CEO of Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), the leading international think tank that published the 10th annual Global Terrorism Index.
The 10 countries in the world with the highest levels of terrorism:
1. Afghanistan
2. Burkina Faso
3.Somalia
4. Mali
5. Syria
6. Pakistan
7. Iraq
8. Nigerian
9.Myanmar
10. Niger
The countries of the Americas with the highest levels of terrorism:
1.Colombia
2.Chili
3. United States
4. Peru
5. Venezuela
6. Canada
7. Argentina
8. Ecuador
9. Paraguayan
10. Mexico
11.Uruguay
12. Brazil
13. Bolivia
13.Guyana
13.Costa Rican
13. Cuba
13. Dominican Republic
13. El Salvador
13.Guatemala
13. Haiti
13.Honduras
13.Jamaican
13. Nicaraguan
13. Panama
13. Trinidad and Tobago
Here is the full report in English:
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Source-www.infobae.com