Discipline and Punish? Youth Gangs' Response to 'Zero-tolerance' Policies in Honduras

Abstract

The response of youth gangs to 'zero tolerance' policing in Honduras are examined with respect to territoriality. Focusing on two main gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street Gang, the ways in which state authority is challenged are assessed from an analysis of body territoriality, the respatialisation of organisational structures across urban neighbourhoods, and the production of new enclosed spaces of gang territoriality. These redefinitions of group territoriality strengthen the emotional bonds and sense of belonging towards the gang, enabling the emergence of a transnational/imagined community. © 2010 The Author. Bulletin of Latin American Research © 2010 Society for Latin American Studies.