- I hold a Ph.D. in Special Education. My academic and research focus involved the relationship between special educat... moreI hold a Ph.D. in Special Education. My academic and research focus involved the relationship between special education and/or psychiatric disabilities and involvement in antisocial and criminal behavior with an emphasis on the personal and ecological variables that underlie the initiation, maintenance and cessation of gang activity; the culture and psychology of gangs; and the development of ecologically valid individual and community gang intervention protocols.
I have worked as a consultant to numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations addressing the gang phenomenon in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and Mexico and authored or contributed to over a dozen reports and articles on organized criminal activity and gender-based violence in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Since 1995, I have presented on a range of issues related to gangs and organized criminal activity at approximately 150 events throughout the U.S. and serve as the Executive Director of the newly forming Central American Research & Dissemination Institute.
Since 2006, I have served as an expert witness in hundreds of American-Mexican gang, organized crime, gender-based and/or sexual orientation immigration matters in U.S. and Canadian immigration courts and facilitated numerous trainings to a broad range of immigration professionals throughout the U.S.edit
Nearly a million people from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have been internally displaced in recent years, and hundreds of thousands more have fled to Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Europe. An extensive literature provides... more
Nearly a million people from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have been internally displaced in recent years, and hundreds of thousands more have fled to Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Europe. An extensive literature provides evidence that direct and structural violence are the principal drivers of this phenomenon, but largely unexamined is the way in which the governments of the region contribute to and in certain critical respects create the conditions that underlie this mass human movement. Through the lens of gang-related forced displacement, this article explores the role of absent, repressive, and criminalized state postures in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala and the corresponding neglect in the lower-income sectors as contributors to the crisis of forced displacement and irregular migration in Central America. The article also examines factors that affect the ability and willingness of the Northern Triangle governments to protect their populations in general and at-risk individuals in particular, including those returning to their countries of origin following deportation from the United States, and other destination countries.
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Beginning in the 1980s, nearly a million Central-American youth and their families migrated to the United States in order to escape the hardship and violence associated with longstanding civil conflicts within the region. Under conditions... more
Beginning in the 1980s, nearly a million Central-American youth and their families migrated to the United States in order to escape the hardship and violence associated with longstanding civil conflicts within the region. Under conditions of poverty and social isolation, may of these youth became involved with gangs in the United States, most notably the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and the 18th Street gang. The latter was an existing Hispanic gang established in Southern California. Rivalry between these gangs ushered in a new era of Central-American gang criminality and violence that continues today. During the early 1990s, partially in response to increasing levels of Hispanic criminal gang activity, U.S. officials began mass deportations of youth back to Central America, a policy that contributed significantly to the proliferation of gangs in Central-American countries. MS13 and 18th Street gang members are also active in several Mexican States, a circumstance that the Mexican Government regards as a national security threat. Not only do gang members move freely across Central-American and Mexican borders, but there is a "revolving door" between the region and the United States. This circumstance requires the creation and implementation of a coordinated transnational strategy based on an analysis of the problem and a response that balances law enforcement, prevention, rehabilitation, and socioeconomic policies. This will require a long-term commitment by the United States in working with Central-American gang programs and human services organizations in building transnational professional networks capable of addressing the complex needs of existing gang members and the populations from which they are recruited. (NCJRS abstract)
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Nearly a million people from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have been internally displaced in recent years, and hundreds of thousands more have fled to Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Europe. An extensive literature provides... more
Nearly a million people from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have been internally displaced in recent years, and hundreds of thousands more have fled to Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Europe. An extensive literature provides evidence that direct and structural violence are the principal drivers of this phenomenon, but largely unexamined is the way in which the governments of the region contribute to and in certain critical respects create the conditions that underlie this mass human movement. Through the lens of gang-related forced displacement, this article explores the role of absent, repressive, and criminalized state postures in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala and the corresponding neglect in the lower-income sectors as contributors to the crisis of forced displacement and irregular migration in Central America. The article also examines factors that affect the ability and willingness of the Northern Triangle governments to protect their populations in general and at-risk individuals in particular, including those returning to their countries of origin following deportation from the United States, and other destination countries.
Casi un millón de habitantes en El Salvador, Honduras y Guatemala han sido desplazados internamente en los últimos años, y cientos de miles más han huido a México, Estados Unidos, Canadá y Europa. Una extensa literatura muestra que la violencia directa y estructural han sido los principales impulsores de este fenómeno. Sin embargo, no se ha examinado la forma en que los gobiernos de la región contribuyen y, en ciertos aspectos críticos, generan las condiciones que subyacen este masivo movimiento humano. Una exploración de dicho desplazamiento forzado y migración irregular ligados a la violencia pandillera nos revela el papel que cumplen las posturas estatales ausentes, represivas y criminalizadas, así como el correspondiente abandono de los sectores de bajos ingresos como contribuyentes a la crisis.
Casi un millón de habitantes en El Salvador, Honduras y Guatemala han sido desplazados internamente en los últimos años, y cientos de miles más han huido a México, Estados Unidos, Canadá y Europa. Una extensa literatura muestra que la violencia directa y estructural han sido los principales impulsores de este fenómeno. Sin embargo, no se ha examinado la forma en que los gobiernos de la región contribuyen y, en ciertos aspectos críticos, generan las condiciones que subyacen este masivo movimiento humano. Una exploración de dicho desplazamiento forzado y migración irregular ligados a la violencia pandillera nos revela el papel que cumplen las posturas estatales ausentes, represivas y criminalizadas, así como el correspondiente abandono de los sectores de bajos ingresos como contribuyentes a la crisis.
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Within Central America, family is recognized as the most prominent and visible social institution. Within this context, one of the most fundamental elements of gangs' strategy of terror involves the targeting families. This paper... more
Within Central America, family is recognized as the most prominent and visible social institution. Within this context, one of the most fundamental elements of gangs' strategy of terror involves the targeting families. This paper describes the social constructs around family in the region; social, cultural and economic factors that account for its visibility in society; elements of gang mentality that give rise to the targeting of families; gang related forced internal displacement; and variables that affect internal relocation as a strategy for addressing risk from gangs.
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ABSTRACT Trafficking in persons, also known as human trafficking or modern-day slavery, is a criminal enterprise that affects virtually every country in the world. Although coercion and force are often employed, the traditional model of... more
ABSTRACT Trafficking in persons, also known as human trafficking or modern-day slavery, is a criminal enterprise that affects virtually every country in the world. Although coercion and force are often employed, the traditional model of human trafficking commonly involves victims being duped with fraudulent offers of travel, study, and employment and moved across international borders to supply international market demands for sex, forced marriage, labor, domestic servitude, illegal adoptions, and human organs. In contrast, as opposed to using fraud to entice victims, gangs in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala rely primarily on coercion and force to establish and maintain control over them and are far more likely to exploit them within the gang’s immediate area of control in ways that reflect the desires and needs of the gang rather than transporting them across borders in response to international market demands. In this paper, we provide an overview of gangs’ practices of coercing young males into criminal servitude and young females into ultra-violent, exploitative relationships and argue that such practices constitute a non-traditional model of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. We also argue that these practices demand a fundamental shift on the part of the governments of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and international partners to investigate and prosecute gang related cases of human trafficking and to protect victims.
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While in a certain sense the socio-political context of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala remain largely unchanged in recent years, in other respects the situation has evolved substantially and in ways that require an updated... more
While in a certain sense the socio-political context of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala remain largely unchanged in recent years, in other respects the situation has evolved substantially and in ways that require an updated understanding on the part of Asylum Officers, attorneys and immigration judges. In general, country conditions have deteriorated significantly in of the Northern Triangle countries despite increasing infusions of aid from U.S. and other international donors, technical assistance, and fledgling efforts to establish a regional approach to crime and violence. The following sections provide a brief overview of relevant changes in each of the countries:
This Briefing addresses the ground of religion in asylum cases involving gang violence in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. It first describes country condition evidence critical to a nuanced understanding of these claims. The... more
This Briefing addresses the ground of religion in asylum cases involving gang violence in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. It first describes country condition evidence critical to a nuanced understanding of these claims. The Briefing then presents an overview of U.S. asylum law with a focus on religion-based claims and gang violence. Next, the Briefing provides examples of cases in which adjudicators have granted asylum to women and youths who suffered or feared persecution by gangs for reasons of religion, among other grounds. The Briefing concludes with practical guidance regarding how to develop and present asylum cases involving gangs, religion, and the church.
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Despite the enormous personal, social and economic costs associated with gang and gender-based violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, outside the region there exists a generally limited and distorted understanding of the... more
Despite the enormous personal, social and economic costs associated with gang and gender-based violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, outside the region there exists a generally limited and distorted understanding of the sociopolitical context within which violence occurs. This paper examines the sociopolitical context of gang and gender-based violence; the factors that undermine the ability and the willingness of governments in the region to protect the public; and the social, cultural, economic, gender and criminological variables that typically undermine internal relocation as a strategy for escaping life-threatening risk.
Trafficking in persons, also known as human trafficking or modern-day slavery, is a criminal enterprise that affects virtually every country in the world. Although coercion and force are often employed, the traditional model of human... more
Trafficking in persons, also known as human trafficking or modern-day slavery, is a criminal enterprise that affects virtually every country in the world. Although coercion and force are often employed, the traditional model of human trafficking commonly involves victims being duped with fraudulent offers of travel, study, and employment and moved across international borders to supply international market demands for sex, forced marriage, labor, domestic servitude, illegal adoptions, and human organs. In contrast, as opposed to using fraud to entice victims, gangs in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala rely primarily on coercion and force to establish and maintain control over them and are far more likely to exploit them within the gang's immediate area of control in ways that reflect the desires and needs of the gang rather than transporting them across borders in response to international market demands. In this paper, we provide an overview of gangs' practices of coercing young males into criminal servitude and young females into ultra-violent, exploitative relationships and argue that such practices constitute a non-traditional model of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. We also argue that these practices demand a fundamental shift on the part of the governments of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and international partners to investigate and prosecute gang related cases of human trafficking and to protect victims.
Research Interests:
Within Central America, family is recognized as the most prominent and visible social institution. Within this context, one of the most fundamental elements of gangs' strategy of terror involves the targeting the families. This paper... more
Within Central America, family is recognized as the most prominent and visible social institution. Within this context, one of the most fundamental elements of gangs' strategy of terror involves the targeting the families. This paper describes the social constructs around family in the region; social, cultural and economic factors that give rise to its visibility in society; elements of gang mentality that give rise to the targeting of families; gang related forced internal displacement; and variables that affect internal relocation as a strategy for addressing risk from gangs.
Research Interests:
Despite the enormous personal, social and economic costs associated with gang and gender-based violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, outside the region there exists a generally limited and distorted understanding of the... more
Despite the enormous personal, social and economic costs associated with gang and gender-based violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, outside the region there exists a generally limited and distorted understanding of the sociopolitical context within which violence occurs. This paper examines the sociopolitical context of gang and gender-based violence; the factors that undermine the ability and the willingness of governments in the region to protect the public; and the social, cultural, economic, gender and criminological variables that undermine internal relocation as a strategy for escaping threats and violence.
Research Interests: Gangs, Gangs, Crime and Violence, Central American Gangs, Central American migration, Gender-based violence in Central America, and 14 moreGangs in El Salvador, Gangs in Honduras, Gangs in Guatemala, violence against women in El Salvador, Honduras, Gautemala, government response to gangs in Central America, internal relocation in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, forced displacement in Central America, forced displacement in el salvador, forced displacement in honduras, forced displacment in gautemala, sociopolitical context of violence in el salvador, honduras, guatemala, violence against women in el salvador, hnoduras, guatemala, violence against women in central america, and internal relocation in central america
The relationship between gangs in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and the church is complex and at times it is amicable whereas at other times gang members are outwardly antagonistic toward the church and pose grave risks to clergy,... more
The relationship between gangs in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and the church is complex and at times it is amicable whereas at other times gang members are outwardly antagonistic toward the church and pose grave risks to clergy, laity and religiously active youth. This article examines the dynamics between gangs and the church, and addresses concerns relevant to legal practitioners engaged in immigration matters involving Central Americans exposed to threats and violence due to their practice of religion.
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It is well known that El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have some of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world and that the region is seriously affected by the presence of gangs. What is less recognized is the fact that... more
It is well known that El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have some of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world and that the region is seriously affected by the presence of gangs. What is less recognized is the fact that gang members not only pose a unique risk to females, but that in part these risks are tied to gangs' strategy of terror and the role that females occupy within that larger strategy . This paper first provides an overview of the larger phenomenon of gender-based violence in the region then addresses the unique features of gender-based violence within gang culture.