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This is absolutely not my experience or the experience of many people I know that have traveled in the region. Latin America is great but the safety concerns are real.

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I've lived in Guatemala for 4.5 years (I'm from the US) and traveled in every country in Central America, and have had only positive experiences. Guatemala is a great country, but difficult for local people because it's hard to make good money. The violence problems are real, but much safer than its reputation, in my opinion.

Hmm... possibly a literal survivorship bias at work here? :)

Sure, that's part of it. The stats are the stats - the rest is anecdotes. But, with experience in a place you realize the crime is concentrated to certain places and groups of people.

For reference, is it safe now to drive yourself from Antigua to Guatemala City at night? That used to be a dicey proposition.

Crime is a numbers game. And certainly you can improve your odds by be being mindful of where and when you're exploring.

I wouldn't let fears of crime discourage anyone from visiting Latin America but compared to many other parts of the world you need to be much more aware of what's going on around you.

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