Violence intensified in northern Veracruz state in Mexico, Venezuela mobilized forces as the US deployed warships and personnel to the Caribbean, and new security measures in prisons in Guatemala triggered coordinated riots.
In July, the Los Choneros leader’s arrest in Manabí, Ecuador, triggered a deadly dispute, the government in Trinidad and Tobago imposed a new state of emergency, and artisanal miners in Peru mobilized to demand formalization.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacts gang violence and activity in Central America as criminal actors adapt to new restrictions.