Preventing and controlling organised crime, at what cost? Examining human rights impacts of strategies from Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala

Abstract

Following decades of failed strategies in combating organised crime, 2022 constituted a turning point for Latin America – El Salvador, under the government of President Nayib Bukele, took a hard-on-crime approach that, for the first time, appeared to successfully prevent and control organised crime. This thesis asks at what cost for human rights did these measures take place? The investigation analyses the targeted nature of organised crime prevention and control strategies in Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala between 2015-2025, looking at state of emergency usage, mano dura attributes, and the prevalence of securitising language used during the period. Using securitisation theory as a point of departure, this small-n study uses the above methods to contribute to an under-researched element of securitisation, namely perpetual cycles of fear and perceived vulnerability, and their role as a catalyst for the continued popularisation of hard-on-crime measures. This thesis posits that less targeted strategies have a negative impact on the level of human rights, which is mostly proven to be the case. These conclusions are derived from an analysis combining established quantitative trends with qualitative insights that seek to explain them.