Gangs in Latin America - Report Example

Topic: Gangs in Latin America Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction America is one of the major countries thathave recorded high numbers of notorious organized gangs, which are a threat to security in the society (Rosenthal 2000 p 95). An organized gang can be defined as a group of people coming together with a common interest which is personal gain through mischievous behavior and criminal activities. These gangs are formed mostly by youths, especially due to lack of employment, in the under represented communities such as the immigrants and the African American society, with the intention of acquiring a living through the harassment of innocent people who are considered to have money. However, some of the gangs are formed as a way of protecting themselves from already established street gangs. California is considered to have the highest number of such gangs, which according to statistics comprise of approximately 20 gangs with a membership that is close to 5000 individuals (Savelli 2005 p 16). This essay is a critical evaluation of Latin American gangs with an oversight into their activities as well as the gang life which they lead. Gangs in Latin America Initially, street gangs were formed as a way of providing protection to the neighborhoods as well as families (Savelli 2005 p 25). However, these gangs later advanced into committing criminal activities in order to provide for their rising needs especially due to financial problems that resulted from unemployment and the need to live comfortable lives, which has been identified with current generation of society. As they transformed themselves in this manner, they became a target for the security forces such as the FBI and counter terrorism units. This is due to the nature of activities which they involved themselves in such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism activities, political assassinations just to mention a few. In response, mass arrests of members over time have been made in terms of thousands, which has also culminated into another form of gang membership; prison gangs (Huff 2001 p 42). Prison security forces have had a rough time coping with these gangs which are formed by criminals who are arrested only to regroup in the correctional facilities or in worse cases they end up joining more strong gangs which are well networked and with higher capability of committing more serious crimes. Latin America is one of the regions that have been classified as having strong gangs, which have managed to penetrate other parts of the United States such as California, Chicago etc (Palmer 2006 p 44). Among the most famous gangs include the Mara Salvatrucha, which is also abbreviated as MS-13. This is a gang that has its origins in El Salvador and it is mostly constituted by people originating from specific ethnic groups for example Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Honduras as well as Guatemalans. Based on statistics, the gang boasts of having a membership of approximately 15000 persons spread across a wide area of 33 states apart from Nicaragua, which is considered as the second poorest country in Latin America and with the lowest gang activities and those that are present are more individualistic such that they even rob their neighborhoods instead of protecting them (Wolf 2010 p 259). However, it may be difficult to tell the exact number due to the fact that many young adults and adolescents are continuing to seek membership implying that the members could be more than quoted. The main reason behind the formation of this gang can be attributed to the civil war which hit El Salvador in the year 1980, forcing citizens to seek refuge in Los Angeles, which had most of the inhabitants being Mexican-American (Wolf 2010 p 257). On their arrival, the refugees were welcomed with hostility by the locals not withstanding the fact that the area was already infested with criminal gangs and high levels of crime. As such, the need to protect their rights arose especially since they were frequently exposed to harassment by the resident gangs and therefore, El Salvador youth created their own gang i.e. the Mara Salvatrucha (Wolf 2010 p 260). Just like other gangs, which are formed with a genuine intention but later change into crime, the gang digressed from its original intentions and adopted the same path. However, police managed to arrest all the members who were later deported back to El Salvador where they were imprisoned. This gave them the chance to show their might in prison whereby they were able to recruit more willing prisoners as well as others from the streets. Within a short time, the gang was capable of widening its base as it was capable of infesting Honduras and Guatemala and on record they were able to kill 28 innocent civilians on transit in cold blood (Jones 2009 p 81). All its activities within these areas were a way of getting back at the government and leadership based on the messages they left on their dead victims which usually carried a threat and a warning either to the police or to the president. Most of the persons involved in gang activities have been noted to be young energetic men, who lack direction and opportunities in the society (Short 2001 p 36). In the recent, California has been realizing increased gang activities with Mara Salvatrucha being the major operative gang that has been acquiring large numbers of new recruits in the area such that they have reached a high figure approximated to be 4500. Apart from this gang, there are others which have different histories and which operate under different principles. An example is the Mexican mafia and the African Guerilla family, which were formed as a result of hatred that exists between Mexicans and African Americans, and which has existed for a long time especially inside prisons (Rosenthal 2000 p 93). According to reports, the enmity has resulted to a battle of supremacy, with leaders for example of Mexican mafia going to the extent of issuing threats to murder people of African American origin. The Mexican mafia is a dangerous gang that operates under a constitution of their own, which is used to maintain discipline among the members. In their constitution, it is a crime for any member to disagree with another and doing so may result to the offender being killed or in cases where he deserts the gang. There are also other active gangs such as the Amigos dos Amigos also commonly known as Friends of Friends, which operates within Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro and others such as Terceiro Comando Puro as well as Comando Vermelho, which are the main competitors in activities of drug trafficking and the control of Brazilian Favelas (Savelli 2005 p 52). Comando Vermelho is much more popular among the youths due to its association with Funk music which the members use as bait to attract young people. This is achieved through organizing sporting activities as well as subsidized parties where they recruit new members from the youths in attendance. A 2008 research conducted by the violence research center indicated that this group has lost a lot of grounds as it only controlled 39% of the most violent areas in the city, which is much less compared to 50% in the year 2005 (Jones 2009 p 101). There are various reasons as to why people especially the youth may involve themselves in gang activities. These are for example peer pressure whereby young people are influenced by their friends to commit such activities. They may also be compelled to do so due to high levels of poverty in the neighborhoods whereby crime becomes the only solution and the easiest way of acquiring a living (Short 2001 p 68). Also, it is possible that the gang members yearn to be powerful in the society, which would enable them easy access to items such as drugs and weapons. However, these young people can be helped by developing institutions for offering guidance and counseling especially to those who have not joined any gang. Those already in the gang life may be more difficult to assist due to the fact that withdrawing their membership would only endanger their lives as most gangs do not condone such action, which may carry a death sentence. It is interesting to note that gangs such as the Mexican mafia have a process of administering justice to errant members. For example, a death sentence passed on a member requires the approval of 3 people for it to be effected where as killing a non member requires absolutely no consultation (Jones 2009 p 50). It is the role of the armed forces however how much they have tried without success to ensure that these gangs are eliminated from the society. This is due to the fact that the history of these groups is enough proof to show that their activities may change at any time to be more dangerous. It is a great challenge for the American government especially since it shows a lot of interest in disarming foreign countries as well as terrorist groups and therefore, it should not be difficult to incapacitate the gangs from committing crime. Conclusion America is a country that is infested with gangs and mobs, which have continued to compromise the security in the society. A gang in this context refers to illegal groups formed by people especially youths, with different objectives some of which were genuine at the conception but which later became a dilemma in the society. These gangs are for example Mara Salvatrucha, Mexican mafia, African guerilla, Amigos dos Amigos, Terceiro Comando Puro as well as Comando Vermelho among others. Poverty and harassment have been identified as some of the major reasons behind their formation though analysts have sometimes disagreed with this citing Nicaragua, which is one of the most impoverished country but with considerably low presence of street and prison gangs as compared to other places such as Elsalvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Young people especially men are considered as the most affected, citing peer pressure, sense of freedom and material gain as their reasons of participating in these criminal activities. Bibliography 1. Huff, R. Gangs in America, Sage Publications, 2001 2. Jones, G. Youth Violence in Latin America: Gangs and Juvenile Justice in Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009 3. Palmer, G. Youth Violence in Latin America, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 4. Rosenthal, L. “Gang loitering and race.” The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 91.9(2000): 91-100 5. Savelli, L. Gangs across America and Their Symbols, Looseleaf Law Publications, 2005 6. Short, J. Poverty, Ethnicity, and Violent Crime (Crime & Society Series), Westview Press, 2001 7. Wolf, S. “Maras Transnacionales: Origins and Transformations of Central American Street Gangs.” Latin American Research Review 5.1(2010): 256-265 Read More