Small Wars Journal

In Honduras, Rival Gangs Keep a Death Grip on San Pedro Sula

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 11:32pm

In Honduras, Rival Gangs Keep a Death Grip on San Pedro Sula by Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times.

The Honduras neighborhood of Chamelecon is a network of gang turfs where residents' survival depends on playing by gang rules…

Each neighborhood has a code of survival. People from one do not venture into the other. The distance can be a matter of a few blocks. This means workers can't get to their jobs and families have had to stop sending their kids to certain schools. Threatened households have packed up and left, leaving behind full closets, children's toys — and lifeless streets.

The gangs charge what residents call a war tax, extorted from homes and businesses, down to the smallest fruit vendor. You don't pay, you get out. And if you don't go, you get killed…

Read on.

Categories: El Centro