Wilson Center Reports on the Americas No. 29: Organized Crime in Central America: The Northern Triangle
This publication attempts to create a better understanding of the nature, origins, and evolution of organized crime in Central America by examining the dynamics of organized crime in the three countries of the so-called Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—as well as the broader regional context that links these case studies. The authors investigate the challenge organized crime poses to the state, its institutions, and governability in general. This publication is part of a series on the sub-regional dynamics of organized crime, focusing especially on the linkages between Central America, Mexico, and the Andean region as well as the growing insertion of Latin America in global transnational crime networks.
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About the Authors
Cynthia J. Arnson
Eric L. Olson
Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
James Bosworth
Founder, Latin America Risk Report & Hxagon Consulting
Douglas Farah
Julie López
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
