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Maras: Gang Violence and Security in Central America
Sensational headlines have publicized the drug trafficking, brutal violence, and other organized crime elements associated with Central America's mara gangs, but there have been few clear-eyed analyses of the history, hierarchies, and future of the mara phenomenon. The first book to look specifically at the Central American gang problem by drawing on the perspectives of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds, Maras: Gang Violence and Security in Central America provides much-needed insight.
These essays trace the development of the gangs, from Mara Salvatrucha to the 18th Street Gang, in Los Angeles and their spread to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua as the result of members' deportation to Central America; there, they account for high homicide rates and threaten the democratic stability of the region. With expertise in areas ranging from political science to law enforcement and human rights, the contributors also explore the spread of mara violence in the United States. Their findings comprise a complete documentation that spans sexualized violence, case studies of individual gangs, economic factors, varied responses to gang violence, the use of intelligence gathering, the limits of state power, and the role of policy makers.
Raising crucial questions for a wide readership, these essays are sure to spark productive international dialogues.
These essays trace the development of the gangs, from Mara Salvatrucha to the 18th Street Gang, in Los Angeles and their spread to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua as the result of members' deportation to Central America; there, they account for high homicide rates and threaten the democratic stability of the region. With expertise in areas ranging from political science to law enforcement and human rights, the contributors also explore the spread of mara violence in the United States. Their findings comprise a complete documentation that spans sexualized violence, case studies of individual gangs, economic factors, varied responses to gang violence, the use of intelligence gathering, the limits of state power, and the role of policy makers.
Raising crucial questions for a wide readership, these essays are sure to spark productive international dialogues.
- GenresCollegeRead For School
309 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 11, 2021
Though now a decade old, Maras is an important book about a murky and troubling topic: the rise and expansion of violent gangs in Central America. The title refers to organized international gangs with roots in the US and Latin America, such as MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) and the 18th Street Gang.
The book is a collection of scholarly offerings on different aspects of the maras. It starts with the evolution of these gangs -- which began in Los Angeles in the 1990s -- into transnational criminal organizations that operate in both the US and Central America, and then delves into the status of the gangs in four Central American countries: El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The book focuses on the different iterations of the maras in each of these countries (spoiler alert: Nicaragua has fared MUCH better against the maras than the other three countries), and presents theories about these distinctions. The final chapters touch on anti-gang strategies and intelligence collection practices, as well as US efforts to combat the maras.
In the foreword, the editor Thomas Bruneau notes that though the maras are exhaustively written about in the media and decried by governments, there exists very little comprehensive, fact-based research about them. The book does not aim to offer solutions to the mara problem; instead, the editors have compiled a factual presentation of the scant research that exists on the topic. In fact, many of the findings presented in the following chapters are original research by the authors.
I found the book informative and well-written. However, I awarded it only 3 stars because finishing this book required a Herculean effort on my part. I started it in mid-August and finished in October, which is unheard of for me with a book of any length. Speaking of which, the book isn't even that long; a full 30% of its 309 pages are citations. But getting through the 217 pages of text was a slog for me, and I almost DNF'd the book more than once.
But in the end, I am glad that I finished it. Though repetitive at some points, I think the authors acquitted themselves well and provided a solid baseline for future research; I would be interested to see what others in the field have added to this strong foundation in the years since its publication. I think that this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Central American gangs or working in anti-mara efforts. Expect a very slow, very illuminating read.
The book is a collection of scholarly offerings on different aspects of the maras. It starts with the evolution of these gangs -- which began in Los Angeles in the 1990s -- into transnational criminal organizations that operate in both the US and Central America, and then delves into the status of the gangs in four Central American countries: El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The book focuses on the different iterations of the maras in each of these countries (spoiler alert: Nicaragua has fared MUCH better against the maras than the other three countries), and presents theories about these distinctions. The final chapters touch on anti-gang strategies and intelligence collection practices, as well as US efforts to combat the maras.
In the foreword, the editor Thomas Bruneau notes that though the maras are exhaustively written about in the media and decried by governments, there exists very little comprehensive, fact-based research about them. The book does not aim to offer solutions to the mara problem; instead, the editors have compiled a factual presentation of the scant research that exists on the topic. In fact, many of the findings presented in the following chapters are original research by the authors.
I found the book informative and well-written. However, I awarded it only 3 stars because finishing this book required a Herculean effort on my part. I started it in mid-August and finished in October, which is unheard of for me with a book of any length. Speaking of which, the book isn't even that long; a full 30% of its 309 pages are citations. But getting through the 217 pages of text was a slog for me, and I almost DNF'd the book more than once.
But in the end, I am glad that I finished it. Though repetitive at some points, I think the authors acquitted themselves well and provided a solid baseline for future research; I would be interested to see what others in the field have added to this strong foundation in the years since its publication. I think that this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Central American gangs or working in anti-mara efforts. Expect a very slow, very illuminating read.
February 5, 2013
Although I have not read many entire books about gangs, I felt that this one gave a good understanding of gangs and the dynamic behind them. It did not paint gangs or the members as heartless, cruel people like I've seen done in so many other books, but rather it showed their motives for entering into the gangs (personal reasons as well as socioeconomic reasons pushed on them by their home country) and how their lives changed or remained the same while in the gangs.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews