> I would expect gangs to be more violent in the places where they are punished the same for nonviolent and violent crimes. If I'm in a gang and will go to jail for 40 years if I get caught distributing cocaine, I might as well murder if I think it will improve my position.

Conversely, how many police officers are killed in the US by criminals on the run? Exercise for the inclined reader: Compare with other western states.

In the less governed areas there is not a "jail to go to" it's basically gang rivalry, gang ascension, descension, internal struggle for control, expanding into rival territory, etc., etc. The gangs are in full control. There is little state presence and the one that could be is often corrupted by gangs...

Yes, and in America, things are still bad and gang violence accounts for a huge proportion of murders. Strong governments do not and cannot solve the problem alone.

Devil's advocate here. If a toddler crawled out of a plastic play house and told you that they would arrest you for one million years if you went into the house, how worried would you be?