In Search of Strategies to Address Violence in Central America

Abstract

The need to address root causes of migration in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador—often referred to as the Northern Triangle—is the primary focus of this article. Specifically, violence as the root cause of migration is my primary focus, because of what I have seen and experienced in the last decade. In working with clinic clients, meeting with migrants on trips to the U.S. southern border, and counseling detainees in ICE detention, the stories that I hear from migrants from those countries are almost always about the gang, cartel, and domestic violence to which they have been subjected.

While I believe that the vast majority of asylum seekers from the Northern Triangle have valid claims and I am disappointed in the treatment of migrants and the politicization of the southern border, I also believe that most migrants would rather stay home in an environment that is safe and permits them to be productive. Thus, addressing the root causes of violence is vital for the migrants and for the families and friends that have been left behind.

This article is an overview of some of the various attempts to reduce violence from a critical perspective. I examine the efforts of the United States to address the root causes of migration, primarily through the U.S. Agency for International Development, and I also engage in an analysis of the roles that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have played. I review the arrival of China on the scene with its range of motivations in the region. The implementation of an ultra-iron fist policy through a controversial state of emergency in El Salvador by President Nayib Bukele is also included. Finally, I review the important work by individuals in the Northern Triangle whose approaches toward addressing violence are special and worthy of attention.

Keywords: Immigration, Central America, Northern Triangle, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Gang violence, Cartel violence, domestic violence, asylum, USAID, World Bank International Monetary Fund, Chinese investment, Iron Fist policy