War on Central American Street Gangs Brings Violence Out of Other Countries and Into Mexico. Central America’s massive crackdown on the street gangs has drawn a bloody response: some gangs are dismembering young women to send police a message of defiance. Others are fleeing to Mexico and neighboring countries, bringing their violence with them. Honduran President Ricardo Maduro, who was elected in 2001 on a “zero tolerance” anti-crime platform, estimates that more than 2,000 gang members have fled since August, when his government outlawed street gangs and started rounding up their members. El Salvador followed suit in October. The wave of escaping gang members has wreaked havoc in Mexico, reaching as far north as the U.S. border. Gang members in border towns like this one rob and kill fellow Central American migrants, recruit Mexican youths and may be allying themselves with Mexican drug traffickers. Mexican police have rounded up gang members in Nuevo Laredo south of Laredo, Texas and along the Guatemalan border, deporting hundreds. Full Story
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