Sunday July 7th was going to be the last day of my journey to reunite with my mother. By then, it had been seven years since she left us to go work in Texas. In Honduras, we had owned a small convenience store a block from our home before we lost it- along with our peace- to gangs. You see, in the late 90s, the United States government had deported hundreds of ex-convicts to Honduras with the majority turned out to be gang members. Most of them, members of Mara Salvatrucha1 (MS13) and Barrio 182 and well those two gangs aren’t exactly the best of friends. By the early 2000s, those two and other local gangs had begun a bloody battle for the territory they all claimed. Along with that they extorted locals and made and distributed drugs to earn money. …show more content…
One day my grandparents were working in the store when members of a gang went in and asked for the “neighbourhood tax”- $60 honduran lempiras, for the month- when he refused to give them the money, they got mad. Later that day when they were closing the store they got stuck in the middle of a storm of bullets. Grandpa died from wounds and grandma had a heartattack. The store had bullet holes all over and later it was looted. When mom was informed that now she her tax had gone up to $120 honduran lempiras a month she decided to close the store and leave to the United States. July 7th was the day everything changed. I changed and six other people changed. I don’t know if we changed for the better but we definitely changed. “Ximena are you ready?” Julieta asked. “We have to be there before
Over the past 60 years there has been a recent phenomenon in the development and rise of gangs and gang violence. This is exceptionally apparent in South Central Los Angeles, where the Bloods and the Crips have taken control of the social structure and created a new type of counter culture. Poverty in this area is an enormous problem caused by a sheer lack of jobs; but just because there is a lack of jobs doesn’t mean that there will be a lack of bills to pay, so sometimes selling drugs in order to keep a roof over your head seems like the most logical option. Crime often times flourishes in these regions because the inconvenient truth is; crime pays. Senator Tom Hayden stated “It’s been defined as a crime problem and a gang problem
By the end of the 2000s, while it seemed to many that there was no end in sight to the violence, behind the scenes senior gang leaders in El Salvador admitted to having grown tired of the gang warfare. Many of them, reflecting on the destruction the inter-gang violence had wrought on the communities in which their mothers, wives, children and grandchildren lived, felt compelled to look for a solution.... ... middle of paper ... ... Having grown increasingly frustrated with these rampant displays of impunity by gangs, the Salvadoran public pressured its government to prioritize public security above all else.
For the 71 years that the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was in power, Mexico saw great political, social and economic upheaval. This can be seen in the evolution of the PRI party, whose reign over Mexican society came at the expense of true democracy. “A party designed for power, the PRI's mechanisms for success involved a combination of repressive measures. The party professed no specific ideology, enabling it to adapt to changing social, economic and political forces over time. It attached itself virtually all aspects of civil society, and in this way, it become the political extension and tool of the government.” In 2000, however, the PRI’s loss of its monopoly on political power and institutional corruption gave rise to inter-cartel violence that was created in the political void left after the PAN won the national presidential election. These conditions gave rise to the Zetas: a new type of cartel that changed the operational structure of previous drug cartels. The Zetas operate in a new militant structure associated with a higher brand of violence, which has led it to branch out beyond a traditional drug smuggling enterprise common under the PRI government. Simply put, the electoral defeat of the PRI in 2000 was supposed to usher in a more democratic era in Mexican politics. Instead, the PRI party’s defeat created a state of chaos that gave rise to inter-cartel violence and the birth of the Zetas cartel.
This paper will cover issues that young minorities encounter in the movies; Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008), Gran Torino (2008), A Better Life (2011). Movies will be summarize, and compare and contrast youths experienced. Criminological theories shall be utilized to further elaborate issues. Finally steps and theories will be utilized towards solving issues, also possible methods to correct the issues will be addressed in the end.
War and violence in Central America is a result of governmental injustice due to the United States’ foreign policies. The United States supported El Salvador with weapons and money throughout the civil war. As a result of enforcing these policies, El Salvador’s poverty, population and crime rate increased. The books “.After.” by Carolina Rivera Escamilla and “The Tattooed Soldier” by Hector Tobar give us a glimpse of the issues Central Americans face.
Prison gangs are originally formed by inmates as a way of protecting themselves from the other inmates. These gangs have turned out to be violent and thus posing a threat to security. This paper will have a look at the different gangs in prisons, their history, beliefs and missions, and the differences and similarities in these gangs.
"The Eye of the Storm; Violence in Honduras." The Economist Jun 16 2012: 44. ProQuest. Web. 22 Oct 2013.
The newscasters provide statistical evidence of new overflowing homicides and violent actions. The gang seems to be in retaliation for the method of eradication that the government claims to have. The way that the officials decided to handle it only caused the gang members to retaliate and created a hostile environment within the community. Since there were illegal immigrants involved it also diminished the reputation of hard-working people who continue to live in fear of prosecution in accordance with
Juvenile Delinquent Gangs As a kid I could remember walking to school every day. While on the way to school, there was always a group of kids sanding outside of the school walking away. These kids dressed differently and they all wore the same type of clothes. It wasn’t until years later that I was told to stay away from them because they were gangsters.
Cruz,M.,(2009, May). Global gangs in El Salvador:Maras and the politics of violence, Retrieved from http://graduateinstitute.ch/weddav/site/ccdp/shared/5039/cruz-global-gangs-in-El-Salvador.pdf
Youth gangs in North American society are nothing new. When we turn on the news we often hear stories of misguided youth contributing to yet another gang related crime. Even though it is known that youth crimes are overrepresented in the media today, the subject of youth gang activity is quite a predicament to our society. Over the last few years, there has been a moral panic created by constant exposure to the media which portrays a great amount of youth crimes and violence. In Canada there are large urban cities with high proportions of young people, many of which live in poverty, that now have the issue of dealing with youth gangs and youth crimes. Toronto, British Columbia, and Ottawa are examples of Canadian cities that have youth gang problems. The implementation of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002) has changed the way youth crimes are dealt with legally in Canada. It is one step in the right direction for dealing with the issue of youth offending. Although the new act is not perfect, it will provide a better sense of justice to society because it calls for greater punishment for youths who re-offend. Youth Gangs in Canada are a potentially serious problem that needs to be addressed and tactically prevented. If preventative measures are not taken, these large populated urban areas in Canada will have problems similar to those of some major American cities. This essay will analyze the youth gang problem in Canada. It will cover topics such as types of youth gangs, the seriousness of the problem, and the cause for the creation of youth gangs from a Social Disorganization theory perspective. It will also examine the effect of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on gang crime.
To begin understanding the intricate sociopolitical situation faced in Honduras today and causing migration, the rich history of the nation must be understood. Honduras is a country with a
One very prevalent issue that has been plaguing the Latino community for several decades now has been the influence of gangs and their responsibility in hindering the advancement of the Latino community as a whole. Not only has the influence of gangs posed a significant threat to the well-being of the Latino community due to the increase in violence and drugs that have been brought into the community, but it has also incited more division among Latinos as well. For example, in places such as Los Angeles, California there is strong animosity apparent between rival Latino gangs that may consist of members from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, etc. In order to restrict their overpowering influence on the Latino community, I would
Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.
Youth gang-related crime has been growing for years, but little data. exists about the extent and precise nature of crimes committed by gangs. members. The. Gangs have been said to have committed many crimes such as drug smuggling, murder, and theft.