The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the Center for the Administration of Justice, and the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University will host the International Seminar “Youth Gangs in Latin American and Caribbean Contexts” on August 8, 2025.

Youth gangs have been a fixture in the urban landscapes of Latin America and the Caribbean for the past fifty years. In recent decades, some of these groups have transformed into organized criminal networks with a transnational presence.

This one-day seminar will bring together leading scholars and practitioners to examine the current state of research on youth gangs in the region. Key topics include:
•The origins and evolution of youth gangs across countries.
•Comparative perspectives on gang dynamics.
•The social, economic, and political factors that lead young people to join, remain in, or exit gangs.

The seminar will contribute to an upcoming edited volume focused on youth gangs in Latin America and the Caribbean, filling a significant gap in the scholarly literature and policy discussions.

This event is part of the Resilient Communities Against Transnational Gangs Program (RESCAT) and made possible with support from LACC’s US Department of Education Title VI Grant