Fighting Gangs to Dismantle Democracy: How Anti-Crime Policies Have Contributed to the Authoritarian Drift in Central America
Date of Publication
1-1-2023 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Transnational Organized Crime
Keywords
International Gangs, Central America, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Foreign Policy, TOC
Description
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—have seen some of the highest levels of criminal violence globally. They are also ground zero for two of the most brutal street gangs in the Western Hemisphere: the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18). Different government administrations have implemented various policies to address gangs and criminal violence; however, no policy has been more controversial or frequently used than the zero-tolerance, or mano dura (iron fist), crackdowns. Zero-tolerance crackdowns were introduced at different moments in all three countries but have been a dominant feature of state response to crime in Central America in the last two decades. In this essay, the author examines the latest installment of hard-on-crime policies in El Salvador and how they contributed to the democratic erosion of the country. This case exemplifies how Central American governments have repeatedly used the fight against crime as a justification to strengthen security forces without oversight, ignore human rights standards, and leverage the justice system to serve corrupt government officials.
Fighting Gangs to Dismantle Democracy: How Anti-Crime Policies Have Contributed to the Authoritarian Drift in Central America
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—have seen some of the highest levels of criminal violence globally. They are also ground zero for two of the most brutal street gangs in the Western Hemisphere: the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18). Different government administrations have implemented various policies to address gangs and criminal violence; however, no policy has been more controversial or frequently used than the zero-tolerance, or mano dura (iron fist), crackdowns. Zero-tolerance crackdowns were introduced at different moments in all three countries but have been a dominant feature of state response to crime in Central America in the last two decades. In this essay, the author examines the latest installment of hard-on-crime policies in El Salvador and how they contributed to the democratic erosion of the country. This case exemplifies how Central American governments have repeatedly used the fight against crime as a justification to strengthen security forces without oversight, ignore human rights standards, and leverage the justice system to serve corrupt government officials.
