Small Wars Journal

El Centro

SWJ El Centro, or "downtown" in Spanish, is our town square for analysis and discussion of Latin America's guerilla wars and criminal insurgencies.  More about El Centro here.

Recent El Centro Journal Articles and SWJ Blog Posts:

Homicide in Mexico 2007-March 2018: Continuing Epidemic of Militarized Hyper-Violence
by Molly Molloy | Fri, 04/27/2018 - 1:08am | 0 comments
Gangs and the Military Note 1: The Increased Threat of Third Generation Gangs with Military-Trained Gang Members
by Carter F. Smith | Wed, 04/18/2018 - 12:19am | 0 comments
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 11: MS-503—Mara Fragmentation and Murder
by Robert Bunker, by Juan Ricardo Gómez Hecht, by John P. Sullivan | Tue, 04/10/2018 - 12:30am | 0 comments
The Threat of Street Gangs, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, and Domestic Terrorist/Extremist Groups with Military-Trained Members
by Carter F. Smith, by Joshua Harms | Fri, 03/23/2018 - 8:28am | 0 comments
ICYMI - Small Wars Journal El Centro and Small Wars Journal Jihadist-themed Anthologies
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 03/20/2018 - 6:00pm | 0 comments
Small Wars Journal El Centro and Small Wars Journal Jihadist-themed Anthologies - Paperback & Kindle Books Available at Amazon.com.
Research Guide: Plutocratic Insurgency - The Gilded Age Redux
by Robert Bunker | Tue, 03/13/2018 - 12:55pm | 2 comments
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 10: Military Takes Control of Policing in Rio de Janeiro
by Robert Bunker, by José de Arimatéia da Cruz, by John P. Sullivan | Sat, 02/24/2018 - 12:18am | 0 comments
Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #36: Claymore Anti-Personnel Mines (Minas Antipersonales) Recovered in Reynosa, Tamaulipas
by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan | Wed, 02/21/2018 - 3:14pm | 0 comments
Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #37: Kidnapped SEIDO Intelligence Officers Appear in Cartel Video; Subsequently Found Murdered
by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Wed, 02/21/2018 - 8:14am | 0 comments
Tyranny of the Majority: U.S.-fueled Instability in Mexico and the Case for a North American Economic and Security Community
by Bryan Baker | Fri, 01/26/2018 - 1:19am | 1 comment
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 9
by Robert Bunker, by José de Arimatéia da Cruz, by John P. Sullivan | Thu, 01/25/2018 - 9:54am | 0 comments
Criminal Insurgency in Brazil
by Christian Vianna de Azevedo | Mon, 01/22/2018 - 6:14am | 0 comments
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note Number Eight
by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan | Fri, 01/19/2018 - 2:44am | 0 comments
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 7: Suspect in Brutal Montgomery County, MD Beheading and Dismemberment Arrested—Suspected MS-13 Nexus
by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan | Tue, 01/09/2018 - 6:38pm | 0 comments
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 6 - Holy War in Rio’s Favelas: Bandidos Evangélicos (Evangelical Bandits)
by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan, by José de Arimatéia da Cruz | Wed, 11/15/2017 - 12:17pm | 1 comment
Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 5: Brazilian Military Stability and Support Operations
by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan | Thu, 11/09/2017 - 1:35pm | 1 comment
The Shining Path of Peru: An Analysis of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Tactics
by Sara Blake | Fri, 10/27/2017 - 1:24am | 0 comments
Criminals & Armed Drones
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 10/24/2017 - 7:00pm | 0 comments

Continue on for two news articles derived from SWJ/El Centro Mexican Cartel Tactical Note # 35.

2017 National Drug Assessment
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 10/24/2017 - 1:11am | 0 comments

The assessment contains sections on transnational criminal organizations as well as gangs. Continue on for a link to the full report.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #35
by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Mon, 10/23/2017 - 2:10am | 0 comments
Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 24: Cartel and Gang Provision of Post-Earthquake Humanitarian Aid
by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Sat, 10/21/2017 - 8:17pm | 0 comments
Illicit Confluences: The Intersection of Cocaine and Illicit Timber in the Amazon
by Casey W. Wilander | Mon, 10/16/2017 - 10:20am | 0 comments
The Vertical Integration of Organised Crime Linked to Political Corruption
by Edgardo Buscaglia | Thu, 10/12/2017 - 5:33pm | 0 comments
Latin America’s Socialist-Islamist-Narco-Terrorist Alliance
by The Washington Times | Thu, 09/28/2017 - 10:16am | 0 comments

"Penetrating Latin America has been an Iranian and Hezbollah project for decades. They have been recruiting allies and agents."

Gangs in El Salvador: A New Type of Insurgency?
by Juan Ricardo Gómez Hecht | Wed, 09/27/2017 - 8:51am | 0 comments