Seven months of Bukele with the FMLN and ARENA in crisis
2020 Febrero El Salvador
The New Year rang in with both of El Salvador’s two major parties, the leftwing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and rightwing National...
“We must remove the tattoo from this country’s soul”
2014 Septiembre El Salvador
The social work done by religious workers who belong to Servicio Social Pasionista SSPAS, a nonprofit civil society peace organization of the Corporación...
The Gangs of Central America: Major Players and Scapegoats
2007 Diciembre Centroamérica
Although the last of the revolutionary conflicts that plagued Central America during the 1970s and 80s was formally brought to an end in 1996, violence...
Nicaraguan Youth Gangs: From Throwing Stones to Smoking Rocks
2006 Septiembre Nicaragua
The most distinguished mention of a 1970s youth gang member in Nicaragua is found in Ernesto Cardenal’s memoirs of the Sandinista revolution. Charrasca...
To Be Young and Poor: Turf, Violence, Fear, Silence
2006 Septiembre Guatemala
Ester is a Kakchiquel from one of the villages in Chimaltenango closest to the capital. She has eight children, most of them now teenagers. Two are...
“I’ve Been in El Salvador Without Being There”
2005 Noviembre Centroamérica
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The Traido: A Key to Youth Gang Continuity
2005 Julio Nicaragua
The main character in Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange, 15-year-old Alex, is the leader of a small group of kids who terrorize the streets...
The Code of Children and Adolescents: Comments on a Misunderstood Law
2005 Mayo Nicaragua
The Office of Special Attorney for Children and Adolescents, which forms part of the Human Rights Defense Attorney’s Office, was created in 2000. In...
An Urban Gang Moves from Social to Economic Violence
2004 Noviembre Nicaragua
In 1996-97, I lived in a poor neighborhood, or barrio, in eastern Managua to study the life and activities of its youth gang, which I even became part...
A “Hard Hand”: State Violence Against Youth Gangs
2003 Septiembre El Salvador
On July 22, in a show mounted for the media, President Francisco Flores announced what he has labeled the “Hard Hand” plan to fight the youth gangs,...
Has ‘Social Cleansing’ of Gang Members Spread to Honduran Jails?
2003 Mayo Honduras
On the morning of April 5, El Porvenir prison in the northern city of La Ceiba was turned into a slaughterhouse. In less than an hour, 108 bloodied...