Don’t believe everything you read. The crime is in small pockets and largely internecine. Stay away from the drug culture (mostly around San Pedro Sula — a thoroughfare), and you’e fine. I know; I live there six months a year.
I suspect the same is also true of Mexico, but which people have no trouble bashing as an entity. Mexico is a much larger country and therefore no doubt easier to maintain a distance from the “bad” areas.