Central America

Following are the top 10 largest rivers in Latin America:

1. Amazon - 6,400 km (3,976 mi)
2. Rio de la Plata - 4,880 km (3,030 mi)
3. Tocantins-Araguaia - 3,650 km (2,270 mi)
4. Madeira - 3,380 km (2,100 mi)
5. Purus - 3,211 km (1,995 mi)
6. Sao Francisco - 3,180 km (1,976 mi)
7. Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte - 3,057 km (1,900 mi)
8. Araguaia - 2,627 km (1,632 mi)
9. Japura - 2,615 km (1,625 mi)
10. Paraguay - 2,549 km (1,584 mi)

It is a sad misfortune, that the answer is yes. It was not that way in the 70's and 80's, I grew up there in the 1980's for most of my childhood, but, shortly after I left, with the tightening of the U.S./Mexico Border in the mid 1990's, when the Republicans recaptured much of congress, a lot of Honduras staying in the U.S. illegally were deported. Because the majority came from Miami and Houston, they had kids and teenagers who had grown up in the gang culture, so, they formed criminal gangs, the infamous "Maras." Originally the whole "Mara" set up was a Salvadoran invention; El Salvador sent quite a few illegal immigrants to the U.S. when the U.S. backed death squads wrecked the country in the 1980's, and that was the birth of the "Mara Salvatrucha." They formed gangs, the Salvadorans did I mean, to protect themselves from beatings against both Mexicans (yes, Mexican Los Angelinos) and Black people, who, in the 80's were a lot more numerous in Los Angeles. The Salvadorans formed the Maras to protect themselves from black and Mexican gangs but in time, the Salvadoran community in Los Angeles got so huge, and from their connections with the Columbians they grew so powerful, pretty soon even the cops couldn't touch them. In fact, the L.A. riots of the 1990's, were instigated by Salvadorans, the infamous "MS13" was the force behind that, it wasn't the Mexicans, and it wasn't black people, it was MS13, as their gang is the most powerful. Pretty soon even other Latinos started joining, now, MS13 has members from all over the Spanish speaking Latin America, among them Hondurans, and, they have chapters in Dallas, Houston and of course Miami.

Tegucigalpa the capital, has in fact become even more dangerous than New York was in the 70's and 80's; sometimes robberies and muggings, take place in broad daylight. Whereas in the 80's everyone walked, and the streets were crawling with pedestrians, in this day and age everyone drives, people are too scared to walk. Also, you can not be out at night by yourself, you always have to travel with friends, and yes there are places you do not want to be in after dark. The Maras have gotten so out of control, that wealthier Hondurans have resorted to inhumane methods for their security. In the Honduran countryside, there are still farmers who use primitive, 19th century implements to grow their own food. For their boss, the "patron," they operate machinery, but they do not have the luxury of their own machinery to grow the food of their own plot of land. Most Honduran farmers are so poor, they live off the land entirely, that is the plot alloted to them. In a way its almost like serfdom. Nevermind what I said; IT IS serfdom, just like Europe was in the middle ages.

Because they use primitive farming implements, and because the fields are plowed with oxen drawing a plow, the majority of Honduran male farmers tend to be very strong from years of hard labor. They are also extremely adept at the use of the machete. Because the city promises better pay, and because of their reputation regarding the skillful use of the machete, wealthier Hondurans hire them as security guards, or sometimes personal bodyguards. Once, a "Marero" (gangbanger) attempted to rob a man; his "machetero" (machete bodyguard; that's the term) bodyguard, lopped his head clean off. Although mostly peaceful, Honduran farmers believe in "machete justice." They have already developed quite a reputation, so, both gangsters and even Columbian drug dealers who sometimes visit the country steer clear of them. Using a gun in public is dangerous; everyone hears, so, as a general rule, most gang members use knives and yes, machetes, however they are not as adept at its use as Honduran farmers are who, like I mentioned earlier, many are so good, they can lop your head off with only one swipe.

How do you think Spanish, and later William Walker's soldiers were thrown out of Honduras? Why do you think British pirates hid in the country? Because British pirates befriended the locals, because in Honduran culture, there is a culture of loyalty towards friends, Honduran campesinos protected British pirates from both Spanish, and later on British authorities. Because it was too dangerous to go into the country, in time the British crown simply lost interest, it was too "insignificant" a place anyway.

1) Always travel with friends.

2) If you have to walk somewhere, be sure it is only a block away. Never walk more than 3 city blocks if you can help it.

3) Regarding Comayaguela, Tegucigalpa's sister city across the river, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT go there after dark.

4) Always drive if you have to go someplace "far," this goes double at night. When you go out at night again, do not get caught walking. Many of those muggers have no conscious; whereas in the U.S. they only threaten, and you can walk away if you give them your wallet, in Honduras some of them will simply murder you on the spot. No threats, no harshly saying "give me your money!" they'll just simply shoot you and take everything. American and European backpackers, they strip naked. No, not to homosexually rape them (most are guys), by stripping them naked I mean, they STEAL IT ALL, EVEN THEIR UNDERWEAR. Head to foot man, they will take it all.

I'm not joking around here; there are parts of war torn African countries that are safer than parts of Honduras in terms of crime.

Resident Evil 5? That game wasn't scary man; being out alone on the streets of Tegucigalpa after dark, THAT was scary!

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Latin America is made up of

• Mexico
• Central America
• The Caribbean
• South America

See related links.

Middle America includes Mexico, all Central American countries such as Honduras or Panama, the Caribbean Islands including Cuba or Jamaica and South American countries Venezuela and Colombia.

The largest of all these countries is Mexico, with 1,972,550 square kilometers (761,606 sq mi) of area, comprising 73% of the region's total land area.