The three countries of Central America El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which form the so-called Northern Triangle, are among the most violent countries in the world. One of the actors of local violence are gangs maras. This thesis "Armed Violence - Gangs Maras - Challenge and Threat to the National State in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras." deals with the problem of transnational gangs Mara Salvatrucha (MS- 13) and Barrio 18 (M-18) and with the interaction between maras and society. The aim of this thesis is to understand the complexity of the maras phenomen and to provide its detailed analysis. Maras were originally founded in Los Angeles by Mexican (M-18) and Salvadorian (MS-13) immigrants. As a result of tighter U.S. immigration policy, some members were deported to their country of origin - to the northern triangle countries. The strong cultural identity of maras appealed to thousands of young people and helped in the rapid expansion of the gangs. Maras are currently regarded as one of the greatest threats to the Central American region. Since 2003 the governments have led a repressive campaign to combat maras, which is supported by media and which sought to involve military in police actions. However, the politics of firm hand haven't had desired effect. Labeling maras as the main...

Individuals interacting in an environment that exacerbates fear of crime and general distrust may face erosion of democratic values and perceive authoritarian policies as a solution to restore order. In Latin America historical widespread distrust in the government apparatus as well as fear of crime, have always been a topic of interest, not only for sociologists but also for political scientists and lawmakers. This study uses the LAPOP wave 2012 (Latin American Public Opinion) survey to assess Ecuadorians’ perceptions about trust in the government and fear of crime as predictors of support for authoritarian policies (mano dura). Logistic regressions show evidence that fear of crime acts as a better predictor than level of trust in the government for predicting the likelihood of supporting authoritarian policies. Overall, this study provides a hint of how Ecuadorians support for democratic principles may have weakened by fear of crime and lack of trust in the government apparatus.