Iron Fist Policies: The Siren Call of Militarization in Latin America David Gagne - Insight Crime
go to original August 21, 2015

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the militarization of domestic security is bad for human rights and has little impact on crime and violence in the long term. So what keeps attracting Latin American governments to adopt these "iron fist" policies?

If you were to take a look at Latin America's security landscape, you would find that the most violent countries are applying a more militaristic approach to domestic law enforcement. The three nations topping InSight Crime's homicide ranking have all recently taken steps to increase the role of the military in combating crime and violence.

El Salvador has deployed elite military brigades to urban settings to fight the explosion of gang violence rocking the country. Honduras has installed a military police force, and appointed a general to head the country's Security Ministry. Venezuela has also assigned high-ranking military officials to fill security positions normally reserved for civilians and recently launched a joint military-police offensive against gangs.

Meanwhile, Mexico - a long-time source of drug-related violence - dramatically increased the military's role in combating powerful cartels under the administration of President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012). Despite an initial change in rhetoric, current President Enrique Peña Nieto has done little to scale back militarization of citizen security.

Despite the seemingly growing popularity of militarization in many parts of the region, there is scant evidence that turning to the military results in improved security over the long term.

Read the rest at Insight Crime

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