Watch 8:50
Murder, extortion and corruption tarnish former tourist haven Acapulco
2017 marked Acapulco's fifth straight year of being Mexico's most murderous city. Once an internationally renowned tropical paradise, violence has shot up over the last decade. But while police and military forces protect tourists, residents say little is done to…
Watch 8:49
The Cancun that tourists don’t often see: soaring murders amid a bloody drug war
It's not part of Cancun that tourists travel to see: heavily armed police working to stop a soaring homicide rate. The fallout of Mexico's campaign targeting drug cartel leaders is spilling onto the periphery of the famous beach destination, where…
Watch 7:06
In ‘Cuz,’ the story of a cousin’s tragic fate and justice system in crisis
Danielle Allen’s cousin Michael was convicted of attempted carjacking at the age of 15, spent nearly 11 years in prison and was murdered at 29. In her new book “Cuz,” Allen looks to her own family tragedy for a deeper…
From prison to Ph.D, this activist fights for peace in Chicago
Chico Tillmon went from being a leader in a gang, to steering inner-city young from a life of crime.
How do you stop a “contagious” outbreak of violence? For Chicago, 2016 is already the deadliest year in more than two decades. John Yang visits the city to understand why the problem is so entrenched and to meet the people…
Naomi McSwain was once a member of the notorious Crips gang in South Los Angeles before leaving that path of violence and drug use to devote her career to helping other young people escape. McSwain sits down with special correspondent…
N.W.A.’s seminal album “Straight outta Compton” painted the Los Angeles area city as a hotbed for gang banging and drug dealing. But long after its 1988 debut, its residents have been working to change that image: Compton is not what…
In Chicago, the number of shooting deaths has climbed in 2015 after falling the last two years. Vonzell Banks was one of the victims -- a 17-year-old church choir drummer, who got caught in the crossfire during a family outing…
PBS NewsHour Weekend producer Brian Epstein recalls his recent trip to El Salvador, where the rise of violent gangs has pushed Salvadorans to seek asylum in the U.S.
