The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime in its 2021 index has ranked Mexico and Honduras among the top ten most corrupt countries in the world. Guatemala is ranked 23rd, between Brazil and Sudan. 

The Global Initiative, which receives funding from the US and EU, reflects the US government’s observations in its report. At times, the Global Initiative’s analysis is prone to understatement, as it states that Mexico’s “militarized, strong-arm approach to tackling organized crime has produced mixed results.” In fact, this militarized approach has led to flagrant human rights violations, an increase in homicides, and has been “catastrophic,” as the Washington Office on Latin America points out. 

In its analysis of civil society and social protections in Mexico, the Global Initiative states: “Hundreds of active non-profit organizations were hit by the corruption crusade of the president, which froze federal funding on accusations of corruption and abuse. The media are seen as a threat and maligned by the administration, green-lighting long-standing violence against the media and making Mexico one of the deadliest countries for journalists. Civil-society leaders are regularly threatened and journalists covering sensitive stories are threatened, abducted, flee abroad, or are gunned down in cold blood.”