How spiralling gang violence is amplifying crises in Latin America

About this event

The UN Security Council recently approved a mission to send a Kenyan-led security force to Haiti in an effort to quell gang violence. But it’s not just Haitians who are confronted by this problem. Surges in gang violence have been seen in a variety of different settings across the region in recent years - from Ecuador to Honduras, from Haiti to Venezuela.

In Gangs out of control, an ongoing series that examines the spread of gangs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, The New Humanitarian looks closely at the failure of regional governments to control the violence, as well as the humanitarian fallout.

This surge in criminal activity has been amplifying existing crises in the region – such as migration and forced displacement, food insecurity, and gender violence – as well as creating new ones in previously peaceful countries like Ecuador.

For the aid sector, the focus is on how best to respond, especially as operating in gang-controlled urban settings throws up a host of new and difficult challenges, especially in a region where responses to such humanitarian crises are so underfunded.

On 19 October, TNH’s Latin America Editor-at-large, Daniela Mohor, will discuss with Matt Crook, Staff Editor for Live Journalism, why governments in the region have persistently failed to prevent this explosion of gang violence. Join us as we discuss how deeply it is disrupting the life of entire communities and examine what aid organisations can do to better assist them.

As Sophie Orr, Americas director for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said in our story about challenges to the aid sector response, “The very high levels of violence are of critical concern with massive consequences for communities, and it is dragging down any progress that could happen.”

Before the conversation kicks off, be sure check out our Gangs out of control series: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/tags/gangs-out-of-control