Guatemala human rights commission usa fact sheet gangs in. Urban violence is a major preoccupation of policymakers, planners and development practitioners in cities around the world. Request pdf are the maras overwhelming governments in central america violence in central america has grown so much in the last half decade that colombia is no longer the homicide capital of. Together, these three organisations count around 65,000 members, according to police records. Gang violence and security in central america by thomas. Criminal violence and democratization in central america. There are more than 900 gangs or operating in central. The combined population of central america is estimated at 44. Rodgers, muggah, and stevenson gangs of central america iii. Diverse experiences with the gangs in central america much about the variability of the gang situation in central america is conveyed in table i.
Leftwing guerrillas who held the nearby guazapa volcano were trying to drive the military out. Maras gang violence and security in central america edited by. Central american gangs recent central american history. Differentiating between pandillas and maras youth gangs have existed since the 1960s and 1970s in central america. Order code rs22141 may 10, 2005 crs report for congress. Introduction the level of attention directed at the maras, pandillas, or gangs, in central america and the united states, is increasing rapidly. Apr 22, 20 theyve become the prime targets of the maras, gangs of criminals that are flourishing in this central american nation. Las maras en centroamerica rebecca broussard, megan eisenbacher, adina flynn prof. The maras are not just a central american phenomenon. Communitybased responses to youth gang violence in central america and central american immigrant communities in the united states. In examining how central american gangs, locally known as maras, evolved. They are most known for their crude acts of violence all over central america and have become one of the scapegoats for the united states to justify their resistants in allowing people from central america into the u.
By jessica farber, research associate at the council on hemispheric affairs. United nations office on drugs and crime unodc, crime and development in central america. By 2004 ms had spread to about 42 states and central. Both gangs were the result of the migration of refugees fleeing increasingly deadly engagements between rebel groups and government forces and the. Gangs from central america and mexico, which emphasized. Firestone, rebecca rivas, jorge lungo, susana cabrera, alejandra ruether, susan wheeler, jennifer and vu, lung 2014. Leer en espanol the first time i tried to visit suchitoto, it was a town under siege. Effectiveness of a combination prevention strategy for hiv risk reduction with men who have sex with men in central america. Bruneau strategic insights is a monthly electronic journal produced by the center for contemporary conflict at the naval postgraduate school in monterey, california.
United nations development program undp, maras y pandillas. Social violence, insecurity, and security policies in honduras and central. The maras have been present in central america for a relatively short time. For a decade, the united states has exported its gang problem, sending central americanborn criminals back to their homelands without warning local governments. They are also considered a threat in many us cities, with particular focus on the mara salvatrucha, ms. Youths gangs had already proliferated before transnational. Not only are there significant articles in publications such as the new york times, the economist, and foreign affairs, but there are also regional. Dec, 2016 the aim of this qualitative research is to broaden the knowledge of reintegration processes and programs in one specific country in central america, namely, honduras. Theyve become the prime targets of the maras, gangs of criminals that are flourishing in this central american nation. Each link is free to form bonds with others, and there is no. The 18th street gang has roots going back to a few years after wwii. Central american gangs are primarily associated with the northern triangle countries. Maras activities range from arms trafficking, assault, auto theft, burglaries, drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, identity fraud, identity theft, illegal. Jul 31, 2018 many peoples lives in honduras changed for the better in 2011 through the founding of skate brothers, a nonprofit skating club that aims to help young people get out of gangs by providing a safe.
Central americas northern triangle has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for women, a phenomenon that has risen in tandem with the regions growing importance to drug trafficking. Approximately 50,000 convicts and 160,000 illegal immigrants were deported to central america over a decade unodc 2007, 4042. Apr 17, 2005 six central american governments asked the united states april 16 to support the creation of a joint security force in the region to battle organized street gangs called maras. With up to 100,000 members scattered across central america, mexico, and the us, the maras could present single greatest threat to regional security in. To download a pdf version of this article, click here. Public authorities routinely seek to contain such violence through repression, as well as through its exportation to and containment at. Central america is a part of the mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from.
A common image of central america in the popular media, both within the region and beyond. In the united states, the most prominent gangs associated with these countries are the 18th street gang and mara salvatrucha. Gang violence and security in central america request pdf. The region of central america and the caribbean continues to be used as a transit and transshipment area for consignments of illicit drugs, primarily cocaine from countries in south america, mainly colombia, bound for the united states and europe. However, there are different types of central american gangs and thus one has to distinguish between pandillas and maras. Las maras en centroamerica by megan eisenbacher on prezi. Gangs, urban violence, and security interventions in central america oliver jutersonke, robert muggah, and dennis rodgers security dialogue 2009 40. Domestic party politics in the three countries have resulted in the reliance of heavy hand mano dura responses to. In central america and the caribbean, there are two main headings. Almost all maras display tattoos on their bodies as a sign of their affiliation to their gang.
Maras is a city in the sacred valley of peru understand. A sample of 14 interviews with stakeholders in the field of maras and pandillas is being investigated and the results revealed some similarities between the different methods of. The most stunning city of perus andes, ayacucho has a gorgeous catedral and two dozen other colonial churches and is surrounded by ruins from the preinca huari culture. Gangs, urban violence, and security interventions in. Threequarters of the towns 40,000 population had fled or been killed and life was miserable for those who remained, as sabotage attacks. The importance of territorial groups in central america. Jul 03, 2019 ley antimaras honduras pdf mano dura iron fist and the ley antimaras antigang law. With up to 100,000 members scattered across central america, mexico, and the us, the maras could present single greatest threat to regional security in central america since the civil wars. For instance, there are far fewer gang members in nicaragua than in the other three countries, and neither of the marasms or 18th streetis found in that chronically poor, conflictridden. Gangs, urban violence, and security interventions in central. Central america and the caribbean major developments 332. The mara salvatrucha ms and its main rival, the 18th street gang.
The maras and national security in central america strategic insights, volume iv, issue 5 may 2005 by thomas c. This region is bordered by mexico to the north, colombia to the southeast, the caribbean sea to the east and the pacific ocean to the west and south. It is useful as a base for exploring salineras or moray, two significant inca sites. As washington fiddles, the gangs are growing, spreading north into mexico and back to. Sensational headlines have publicized the drug trafficking, brutal violence, and other organized crime elements associated with central americas mara gangs. Crs3 4 ana arana, how the street gangs took central america, foreign affairs, mayjune 2005. In honduras, troubled youth trade gangs for sports. Many femicides targeted murders of women are attributed to gangs. Nowhere is perus colonial past more palpable than ayacucho. Maras gang violence and security in central america edited. Youth violence and gangs are a critical concern in central america today. The best known maras are mara salvatrucha and their rivals calle 18.
Ms, for example, reportedly has 20,000 members in the united states, 4,000 members in canada, and a large presence in mexico. Certain sections, including specific countrylevel recommendations for usaid missions, were omitted from the country profile annexes. According to a united states congressional research service report, the maras have expanded their territory in central america us 28 jan. The result has been an explosive rise of vicious, transnational gangs that now threaten the stability of the regions fragile democracies. In 1989, the mara salvatrucha, or ms, appeared in honduras, and in the early 1990s, the mara 18, or m18, surfaced. Maras were hunted by death squads including sombra negra. Maras pose greater threat than ever, latin american weekly report, february 7, 2008. See more ideas about novels, teaching and ap spanish. How the street gangs took central america foreign affairs. Maras and gangs, community and police in central america sida. Men between the ages of 15 and 34 account for the overwhelming majority of homicide victims, and they also comprise the membership of youth gangs.
Recent media reports of the arrival of the maras from central america also tend to. A clique is led by palabreros, or gang leaders, and which comprise of. Jorge flores, the commander of guatemalas joint chiefs of staff, relayed the request to the u. Skinner free pdf d0wnl0ad, audio books, books to read, good books to read. This article analyses the evolution of illegal drug economy in the americas over the past two decades. Maras and youth gangs, community and police in central america. Gang violence and security in central america austin. A clique is led by palabreros, or gang leaders, and which comprise of a primera palabra, or first gang. Making sense of central american maras gang research. Are the maras overwhelming governments in central america. Mar 08, 2014 in our coedited book, with lucia dammert and elizabeth skinner, maras. However, there are different types of central american gangs and thus one has to distinguish. The humanitarian consequences are of this phenomenon comparable to the ones experienced during the civil wars that plagued the region at the end of the.
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