ABSTRACT
Insecurity in Honduras is driven largely by the expansion of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, which is fighting with the state and other criminal elements as it seeks to expand its drug-trafficking structure and territory. The gang initially specialised in cocaine-transportation and production, before expanding into other drugs and achieving a near-monopoly on Honduras’s internal drug market. In recent years, the MS-13 expanded its criminal, political and economic operations, collaborating as an independent partner with Mexican drug-trafficking organisations to ship cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela to Mexico and increasing its control of cocaine-processing laboratories in Honduras. The group also learned how to use encrypted apps for communications; the dark web and cyber currency for financial transactions; and drones for reconnaissance operations.
