Honduras has 9.5 Times the Murder Rate of NYC

Dominican Today: "Violent deaths in Honduras up by 14.7 percent so far this year

Tegucigalpa.– The violent death rate in Honduras was up by 14.7 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2005, according to a study released Tuesday in this capital.

In the year's first quarter, police reported 1,308 violent deaths, 168 more than in the first three months of 2005, said the study prepared by the Observatorio de la Violencia in Honduras.

The study says that men between 15 and 24 years of age are the main victims of violence in this country.

Honduras has a population of 7 million people, about the same as New York City, which had fewer than 550 murders last year. Much of the violence here is blamed on youth gangs."