SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — A newly released report, paints a grim picture of what's happening in Mexico and cities like Tijuana as the border town is named the most violent city in the world in 2018. htt...

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — A newly released report, paints a grim picture of what's happening in Mexico and cities like Tijuana as the border town was named the most violent city in the world in 2018.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't surprising to me,” said Enrique Morones.

Morones is the executive director of Border Angels, a San Diego-based advocacy group that also has a shelter in Tijuana.

"Border angels has been around for 30 years,” said Morones. “We've never had any incident where somebody got hurt or lost because we're very, very careful.”

The report by the Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice found that five out of six of the world's deadliest municipalities were in Mexico.

Tijuana took the top spot, averaging seven murders a day, followed by the Mexican resort town of Alcapulco; Caracas, Venezuela; next were Ciudad Victoria and Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico.

Morones says the violence happens among people involved in the drug and criminal trade, but that it's not reflective of the majority of the population in Tijuana.

“It shouldn’t be happening. It's sad," he said.

Experts believe the historic spike in homicides is tied to the country's ongoing drug war as local gangs and cartels battle over a lucrative domestic drug market.

"It's really devastating to a city and they need to do something about it,” said Morones.

But that doesn't mean Morones believes the city is unsafe for people to travel to and says he would never stop his work there.

"It's always been a safe city,” said Morones. “There’s just certain things you shouldn't be doing down there and certain areas you might want to avoid.