Friday, February 9, 2007

Study: L. American gangs are stronger but not linked to U.S. gangs

A study conducted by the Washington Office on Latin America and Mexico’s Autonomous Technological Institute has shed some light on the topic of gang violence in the Americas. One of the report’s findings said that the thereat of Hispanic gangs in the Washington, D.C. area is being overblown by the media and police entities. “There's been some hypersensitivity that's contributed to and exaggerated understanding of gangs,” said one of the researchers of the report which alleges that local Hispanic gangs are not connected to their Latin American counterparts.

In addition, the report concluded that Central American gangs have become stronger and better organized due to heavy-handed police tactics. So-called “zero tolerance” tactics are not producing their desired result, which casts doubts on recent transnational efforts to quell gang violence.

Image- BBC News (Members of Salvadoran gang "Mara Salvatrucha")

Links- Washington Post, Washington Times, Reuters, Reuters AlertNet

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