Alternative Governance in the Northern Triangle and Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy: Finding Logic within Chaos

Last year, tens of thousands of children poured across the southern border of the United States. Most orginated in Central America's Northern Triangle countries - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - and fled northward to escape widespread violence, instability, and lack of economic opportunity in their countries of origin.

At this event, we're happy to launch the latest report from the CSIS Americas Program: "Alternative Governance in the Northern Triangle and Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy: Finding Logic within Chaos." An outgrowth of a year of fieldwork along the Honduras-Guatemala border and with gangs in San Pedro Sula, private roundtables, and research, the paper addresses how transnational criminal groups interact with - and, at times, co-opt - state presence in the Northern Triangle countries. And, in conclusion, the report provides a set of practical recommendations for the future of U.S. policy toward the Northern Triangle.

Featuring Keynote Remarks by:

Caryn C. Hollis
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense
Counternarcotics and Global Threats

Followed by a Panel Discussion Featuring:

Douglas Farah
Co-author, and
Senior Associate
CSIS Americas Program

Carl Meacham
Co-author, and
Director
CSIS Americas Program

Steven Dudley
Co-Director
InSight Crime