Churchill

While political violence has decreased, criminal and social violence have risen. Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are among the most violent countries in the world. In December of 2004, a bus driving through the northern city of Chamalecon in Honduras was stopped by gunmen. The assailants quickly surrounded the bus and opened fire with their AK-47s, killing 28 passengers. The police revealed that the attackers had been members of a notorious street gang known as Mara Salvatrucha (or MS-13) whom had chosen their victims at random. The slaughter had nothing to do with the identities of the people onboard; it was meant as a protest and a warning against the government's crackdown on gang activities in the country.

Fed by an enormous growth in the area's youth population and by a host of social problems such as poverty and unemployment, the gangs are spreading into Mexico and beyond, even back into the United States itself. Causes of street gang formation can be determined in many ways. Major categories included social exclusion, a culture of violence, rapid urban growth, disorganization in the neighborhoods, drugs, family problems, presence of gang members and the existence of long-term violence, such as cycles of revenge. Abuse and family problems drive young people onto the streets. There, pressure from friends to participate in organized violence with promises of fast income, leadership and power make street gangs a luring option. For many young people the street represents a temporary escape from everyday problems. They are pressured by peers to learn to display courage and show no fear, to establish a reputation for them-selves and to defend it, and above all to appreciate the effectiveness of violence and threats to achieve their aims.

Emigration and deportation are important factors towards the rise of transnational gangs. During the political repression and civil wars of the 1980s, there was great migration to the US. In comparison to the Nicaraguans,...