The Phenomenon of Maras and Gangs in Central America: Criminal Justice System Responses
Pablo Díaz Navarro , Universidad del País Vasco, Spain
Isabel Martínez Cordero , Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
Abstract
Maras and gangs in Central America have become a serious socio-political and security predicament over the last 30 years. Growing out of systemic poverty, social exclusion, legacies of civil conflicts and transnational migration, such groups e.g. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 have become extremely powerful in such countries. These gangs are involved in violent crimes, extortion, drug trafficking, and human smuggling, destabilizing their communities and causing people to lose faith in governmental agencies. As the Central American governments react to this problem, mass incarceration, militarized policing, and anti-gang legislation, whereas mano dura (iron fist) policies, are some of the most predominant punitive criminal justice strategies. However, the problem has been aggravated in the past by these repressive practices, which have led to overcrowding of prisons, strengthening of gang identity, and raising human rights issues. This paper takes a critical approach to examining the effectiveness of criminal justice system responses to the gang crisis, considering both the impact time frame of these responses in reducing crime and the integral repercussions on the social fabric. Based on case studies, policy analyses, and International Human rights reports, the analysis further examines other approaches through the paradigm of community policing, rehabilitation ideas, regional cooperation systems. These data reflect that excessive application of harsh methods without solving underlying causes of crime, like unemployment among the youth, failure of state institutions, and the lack of education, has hampered the effectiveness of crime justice reaction. The paper recommends an approach which balances law enforcement, social intervention, and reintegration to destroy the structural basis on which the gangs thrive.
Keywords:
Phenomenon (PP), Maras and Gangs (M&G), Central America (CA), Criminal Justice system (CJS).
