Perspective

Gang Violence Is Moving to the Amazon’s Fast-Growing Cities

As the drug trade piggybacks on environmental plunder, a spike in homicides is borne by the rainforest region’s neglected urban areas. 

Macapá, on the bank of the Amazon River, has seen its population grow fivefold since 1970.

Photographer: Stefan Kolumban

This is the second article in a series on the challenges and opportunities of the urban Amazon. Read the first one here.

Framed by an elegant riverside promenade and a modest skyline with streets enviably free of gridlock, Macapá is that rare major Brazilian city with a lingering small-town vibe.