Understanding gang-recruitment through selective incentives: the case of Honduras

Since their origins in the 1960s, criminal organizations in Latin America have been responsible for brutal acts of violence in the region. However, very little is known about the specific mechanisms involved in their recruitment tactics. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the use of selective ince...

Full description

Autores:
Carmona Bozo, Victoria
Tipo de recurso:
Article of journal
Fecha de publicación:
2019
Institución:
Universidad de Cartagena
Repositorio:
Repositorio Universidad de Cartagena
Idioma:
eng
OAI Identifier:
oai:repositorio.unicartagena.edu.co:11227/10108
Acceso en línea:
https://hdl.handle.net/11227/10108
https://doi.org/10.32997/2256-2796-vol.11-num.21-2019-2497
Palabra clave:
Honduras
Gang recruitment
Gang violence
maras
Rights
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Description
Summary:Since their origins in the 1960s, criminal organizations in Latin America have been responsible for brutal acts of violence in the region. However, very little is known about the specific mechanisms involved in their recruitment tactics. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the use of selective incentives is widespread among gangs to compel membership. This essay considers both the shape and character of Honduran gang members and attempts to highlight the complex phenomenon of gang recruitment. I will advance a twofold approach of the selective incentives theory of rebel recruitment to identify the significant mechanisms at play in the recruitment of citizens to join violent gangs. Understanding the processes of recruitment involved in the Honduran case will potentially contribute to better plan and execute interventions to reduce gang violence in the Northern Triangle countries (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) and Latin America at large.