RantCrush Top 5: June 23, 2017

Last night, President Donald Trump tweeted that Mexico was “just ranked the second deadliest country in the world, after only Syria. Drug trade is largely the cause. We will BUILD THE WALL!” He didn’t cite a source for this information.

The study that the president cited is apparently deeply flawed https://t.co/ipnfEpEjcT https://t.co/hjSbTpThu8

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) June 22, 2017

He likely got his numbers from a study released in May by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, IISS, that has been heavily criticized for employing a flawed methodology. After Trump’s tweet, Mexico’s foreign and interior ministries issued a joint statement citing numbers from the U.N. that show Mexico is far from being the most violent country in the world. The country’s homicide rates are far below other countries in Latin America including Honduras, Colombia, and Brazil. Most of the casualties are connected to the drug trade, which is propped up by high demand from the U.S. The statement ended by saying we must move past finger-pointing and work together, which Trump doesn’t seem too eager to do.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.