In this Council Special Report, sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, Shifter assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries, and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects.

Contents: (1) Background on Violent Crime; (2) Scope of the Gang Problem: Defining Gangs; Transnational Gangs; Factors Exacerbating the Gang Problem; Poverty and a Lack of Educ. and Employ. Opport.; Societal Stigmas; Role of the Media; Anti-Gang Law Enforce. Efforts; Prisons in Need of Reform; U.S. Deportations; (3) Country Anti-Gang Efforts: Mano Dura (Heavy-Handed) Anti-Gang Policies; Effects of Mano Dura Policies?; Alternative Approaches; Prospects for Country Prevention and Rehab. Efforts; Regional and Multilateral Efforts; OAS; Multilateral Develop. Banks and Donor Agencies; (4) U.S. Policy: Congressional Interest; U.S. Internat. Anti-Gang Efforts; State Dept.; Justice Dept.; USAID; Policy Approaches and Concerns.

This book highlights historical explanations to and roots of present phenomena of violence, insecurity, and law enforcement in Central America. Violence and crime are among the most discussed topics in Central America today, and sensationalism and fear of crime is as present as the increase of private security, the re-militarization of law enforcement, political populism, and mano dura policies. The contributors to this volume discuss historical forms, paths, continuities, and changes of violence and its public and political discussion in the region. This book thus offers in-depth analysis of different patterns of violence, their reproduction over time, their articulation in the present, and finally their discursive mobilization.

Many countries throughout Latin America have experienced high levels of corruption, drug trafficking, and violence, which has created elements of fragility. The book is comprises case studies that explore the nature of violence in countries throughout the region. Moreover, it seeks to address some of the ways in which governments have sought to address violence. The cases examined in this volume are quite diverse, illustrating different types of violence as all of the countries in Latin America are not the same. Countries like Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico have high levels of drug trafficking and organized crime. Strategies designed to combat drug trafficking organization, particularly in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil, and counter-gang strategies in Central America have help foment violence as these various criminal organizations have responded to such government policies. Yet other countries, like Peru and Bolivia, have much lower levels of violence. However, the perception of insecurity is quite high despite the fact that Peru has one of the lower homicide rates in the country. On the other hand, the nature of violence in Bolivia is quite different. This country does not have a homicide rate like El Salvador, but the country has witnessed public lynchings and other forms of violence. This volume is an effort to better understand the major trends in political violence in this particularly violent region.

In this succinct text, Jonathan D. Rosen and Hanna Samir Kassab explore the linkage between weak institutions and government policies designed to combat drug trafficking, organized crime, and violence in Latin America. Using quantitative analysis to examine criminal violence and publicly available survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) to conduct regression analysis, individual case studies on Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, and Nicaragua highlight the major challenges that governments face and how they have responded to various security issues. Rosen and Kassab later turn their attention to the role of external criminal actors in the region and offer policy recommendations and lessons learned. Questions explored include: What are the major trends in organized crime in this country? How has organized crime evolved over time? Who are the major criminal actors? How has state fragility contributed to organized crime and violence (and vice versa)? What has been the government’s response to drug trafficking and organized crime? Have such policies contributed to violence? Crime, Violence and the State in Latin America is suitable to both undergraduate and graduate courses in criminal justice, international relations, political science, comparative politics, international political economy, organized crime, drug trafficking, and violence.

This book examines the nature of transnational organized crime and gangs, and how these diverse organizations contribute to violence, especially in so-called fragile states across Central and Latin America. While the nature of organized crime and violence differs depending on the context, the authors explain how and why states plagued by weak institutions tend to foster criminal organizations and violence, and why counter-crime initiatives often result in higher levels of violence. By examining the consequences of tough on crime policies (e.g., mano dura) in places like Mexico, El Salvador, and Colombia, the volume offers a new perspective on the link between state fragility, crime, and violence.