has been a problem for Central America and the US since the mid 90s. One of the early articles published was "From Revolutionary Warfare to Criminalization: The Transformation of Violence in El Salvador" by Kimbra L. Fishel (yes, if you want to know, my wife) in LOW INTENSITY CONFLICT & LAW ENFORCEMENT, vol 6, no 3 (Winter 1997), pp. 48-63. A point made in her article that is often overlooked is that the USG under a 1996 law expanded deportations of felons. What was most often overlooked was that at the time, there was no coordination with the HN for receipt of these gang members. They were simply dumped back home where they quickly created an organizational revolution in criminal activity. By the time the USG began to coordinate the deportations with the HN it was too late and we all had a new problem on our hands. The maras were well established in Central America and Mexico and were being re-exported to the US. A classic case of unintended consequences!

Cheers

JohnT