{ "id": "RL34112", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL34112", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 455443, "date": "2016-08-29", "retrieved": "2016-10-17T19:32:21.760228", "title": "Gangs in Central America", "summary": "The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its main rival, the \u201c18th Street\u201d gang, continue to undermine citizen security and subvert government authority in parts of Central America. Gang-related violence has been particularly acute in El Salvador, Honduras, and urban areas in Guatemala, contributing to some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang-related crime and violence on governance, citizen security, and investment in Central America. Congress has examined the role that gang-related violence has played in fueling mixed migration flows, which have included asylum seekers, by families and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) to the United States. Since FY2008, Congress has appropriated funding for anti-gang efforts in Central America. \nCentral American governments have struggled to address the gang problem. From 2012 to 2014, the government of El Salvador facilitated a historic\u2014and risky\u2014truce involving the country\u2019s largest gangs. The truce contributed to a temporary reduction in homicides but strengthened the gangs. Since taking office in June 2014, President Salvador Sanchez Cer\u00e9n has adopted repression-oriented anti-gang policies similar those implemented in the mid-2000s, including relying on the military to support anti-gang efforts. El Salvador\u2019s attorney general is investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings committed by police engaged in anti-gang efforts. Successive Honduran governments have generally relied on suppression-oriented policies toward the gangs as well, with some funding provided in recent years to support community-level prevention programs. The Guatemalan government has generally relied on periodic law-enforcement operations to round up suspected gang members.\nU.S. agencies have engaged with Central American governments on gang issues for more than a decade. In July 2007, an interagency committee announced the U.S. Strategy to Combat Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico, which emphasized diplomacy, repatriation, law enforcement, capacity enhancement, and prevention. Between FY2008 and FY2013, Congress appropriated roughly $38 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funds through a special line item for anti-gang efforts in Central America. Since FY2013, approximately $10 million in Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) funding has been assigned to continue those anti-gang initiatives. Significant additional support has been provided through CARSI for violence-prevention efforts in communities affected by gang violence, as well as for vetted police units working on transnational gang cases with U.S. law enforcement. Recently, U.S. and Salvadoran officials have also targeted the financing of MS-13, which the Treasury Department\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated as a Transnational Criminal Organization subject to U.S. sanctions in October 2012, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581.\nThis report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America. Congressional oversight may focus on the efficacy of anti-gang efforts in Central America; the interaction between U.S. domestic and international anti-gang policies, and the potential impact of U.S. sanctions on law-enforcement efforts. See also CRS Report R41731, Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress, and CRS Report R43702, Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34112", "sha1": "f606079a961b87aecd1553d2bb2bd48dff3d93ca", "filename": "files/20160829_RL34112_f606079a961b87aecd1553d2bb2bd48dff3d93ca.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34112", "sha1": "519fde01d8c18be18782d65f61c168949bea7d81", "filename": "files/20160829_RL34112_519fde01d8c18be18782d65f61c168949bea7d81.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4847, "name": "Latin America, Caribbean, & Canada" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4878, "name": "International Terrorism, Trafficking, & Crime" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 432183, "date": "2014-02-20", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T23:06:17.544396", "title": "Gangs in Central America", "summary": "Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang violence in Central America and begun to examine the role gang-related crime and violence has played in fueling a surge in unaccompanied alien children (UAC) emigrating to the United States. Congress has continued to monitor the expanding activities of transnational gangs with ties to that region operating in the United States. Since FY2008, Congress has appropriated significant amounts of funding for anti-gang efforts in Central America, as well as domestic anti-gang programs. This report focuses primarily on U.S.-funded international anti-gang efforts.\nThe Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its main rival, the \u201c18th Street\u201d gang (also known as M-18), continue to threaten citizen security and challenge government authority in Central America. Gang-related violence has been particularly acute in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, which have had among the highest homicide rates in the world. Recently, some governments have moved away from repressive anti-gang strategies, with the government of El Salvador having facilitated a historic\u2014and risky\u2014truce involving the country\u2019s largest gangs in 2012. The truce contributed to a large reduction in homicides, before beginning to unravel in recent months. The truce carries risks for the Salvadoran government that will take office on June 1, 2014, such as what might happen if the gangs were to walk away from the truce stronger than before and/or if the truce were to end abruptly and prompt an escalation in intra-gang violence.\nU.S. agencies have engaged on both the law enforcement and preventive sides of dealing with Central American gangs; an inter-agency committee developed a U.S. Strategy to Combat Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico that was announced in July 2007. The strategy focuses on diplomacy, repatriation, law enforcement, capacity enhancement, and prevention. An April 2010 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that U.S. agencies consider strengthening the anti-gang strategy by developing better oversight and measurement tools to guide its implementation. U.S. law enforcement efforts may be bolstered by the Treasury Department\u2019s October 2012 designation of the MS-13 as a major Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) subject to sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581.\nIn recent years, Congress has dedicated funding to support anti-gang efforts in Central America. Between FY2008 and FY2013, Congress appropriated roughly $38 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funds for anti-gang efforts in Central America. Congress provided additional support in FY2008 and FY2009 for anti-gang efforts in the region through the M\u00e9rida Initiative, a counterdrug and anticrime program for Mexico and Central America, and, more recently, through the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). Congressional oversight may focus on the efficacy of anti-gang efforts in Central America; the interaction between U.S. domestic and international anti-gang policies, and the impact of the Treasury Department\u2019s TCO designation on law enforcement efforts against MS-13. \nThis report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America. Also see CRS Report R41731, Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress, by Peter J. Meyer and Clare Ribando Seelke.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34112", "sha1": "1977451f4254f2aa726490c5ae60287feff88c65", "filename": "files/20140220_RL34112_1977451f4254f2aa726490c5ae60287feff88c65.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34112", "sha1": "093c98d6d2bba619187f51aa599aaed8bf4d2532", "filename": "files/20140220_RL34112_093c98d6d2bba619187f51aa599aaed8bf4d2532.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 272, "name": "International Trafficking and Crime" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 281, "name": "Latin America and the Caribbean" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462950/", "id": "RL34112_2013Jan28", "date": "2013-01-28", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Gangs in Central America", "summary": "This report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America. 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