Robert Muggah

Robert Muggah is the Research Director of the Igarapé Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Director of Research and Policy for the SecDev Foundation and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fragility, Conflict and Violence.

A line of migrants stand with backpacks and belongings under a green sign marking the Colombian border.

Refugees from Venezuela are fleeing to Latin American cities, not refugee camps

Cities can provide refugees a better chance to rebuild their lives, but political barriers to integration raise concerns that the growing number of urban refugees could remain in permanent ghettos.

Refugees from Venezuela are fleeing to Latin American cities, not refugee camps
Some of about 4,000 guns seized by Brazil's Federal Police or delivered by residents during a public disarmament campaign, are pictured before being destroyed in Rio de Janeiro on June 2, 2017.

Gun violence hits all citizens with a heavy financial toll

Gun violence hits all citizens with a heavy financial toll
A protester holds a national flag as a bank branch, housed in the Supreme Court of Justice, burns during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2017.

Venezuela is on the brink of civil war. Here's how its neighbors could stop it.

Venezuela is on the brink of civil war. Here's how its neighbors could stop it.
Guns delivered during a disarmament campaign are displayed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 6, 2011.

Guns kill about 40,000 Brazilians every year. Some lawmakers think more guns will make the country safer.

Guns kill about 40,000 Brazilians every year. Some lawmakers think more guns will make the country safer.
Rio security Ipanema beach

By some measures, Rio will be the most secure Olympic Games yet

By some measures, Rio will be the most secure Olympic Games yet

It's really hard to say which city is the world's most murderous

The truth is that it is hard to generate valid murder data in Venezuela, much less Caracas.

It's really hard to say which city is the world's most murderous
Many of the arms used by Mexican cartels come from the US and Central America, but that's not the full story.

The complex picture behind the military arms behind many violent crimes in Mexico (CHARTS)

At least 50 countries have exported military-grade weapons and associated materiel to Mexico over the past five decades.

The complex picture behind the military arms behind many violent crimes in Mexico (CHARTS)