Gangs in Central America

Abstract

The 110th Congress has maintained a keen interest in the effects of crime and gang violence in Central America and its spillover effects on the United States. Since February 2005, more than 2,000 alleged members of the violent Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang have been arrested in cities across the United States. These arrests have raised concerns about the transnational activities of Central American gangs, and governments throughout the region are struggling to find the right combination of suppressive and preventive policies to deal with them. Some analysts assert that increasing U.S. deportations of individuals with criminal records to Central American countries may be contributing to the gang problem. Several U.S. agencies have been actively engaged on both the law enforcement and preventive side of dealing with Central American gangs. An inter-agency committee worked together to develop a U.S. Strategy to Combat Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico, which was announced at a July 2007 U.S.-Central American Integration System (SICA) summit on security issues. The strategy, which is now being implemented, states that the U.S. government will pursue coordinated anti-gang activities through five broad areas: diplomacy, repatriation, law enforcement, capacity enhancement, and prevention. During the first session of the 110th Congress, several Members introduced immigration legislation H.R. 1645 (Gutierrez), S. 330 (Isakson), and S. 1348 (Reid) that included provisions to increase cooperation among the United States, Mexico, and Central America in the tracking of gang activity and in the handling of deported gang members. However, none of those bills were enacted. On October 2, 2007, the House passed H.Res. 564 (Engel) supporting expanded cooperation between the United States and Central America to combat crime and violence.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 17, 2008
Accession Number
ADA488679

Entities

People

  • Clare R. Seelke

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Central America
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Criminals
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Department Of State
  • Drug Trafficking
  • Employment
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • Police
  • Societies
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.