Gang Strategies in the Northern Triangle: Coerced Criminality as a Form of Human Trafficking argues for a more robust understanding of the issues, dynamics, and contextual factors of human trafficking. Relying on the definition as established by the Palermo Protocol more than two decades ago, this book takes a hard look at the strategies and results of gang “recruitment” in the Northern Triangle countries as a particular and understudied form of human trafficking—gang trafficking. It offers a lens through which to evaluate the actions of gangs, specifically MS13 and Barrio 18, as they use methods of coercion to force the compliance of youths as de facto gang slaves. By elaborating on this dynamic, and on the risks associated with anti-gang policies and harsh law enforcement practices, Gang Strategies in the Northern Triangle unravels the underlying victimization, exploitation, and criminalization of youths in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The book maintains that the crimes of gang violence and the crimes of human trafficking intertwine and intersect to perpetuate an environment of trauma, exploitation, and hopelessness that leaves thousands with no options, as refugees, conscripted into gangs, incarcerated for crimes they were forced to commit, or dead.
- ISBN10 1666909793
- ISBN13 9781666909791
- Publish Date 15 October 2022 (first published 22 August 2022)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
- Imprint Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 212
- Language English