This article introduces the topic of pandillas (street gangs) and their implications
for security in Central America. There is minimal scholarly literature on
pandillas and security. In part this is due to serious challenges in analyzing pandillas.
First, pandilla members consider truth to be situational; data derived directly from
them is suspect. Second, those who know most about them are involved in NGOs that
rely on foreign assistance for their work. The project reports they produce go to funders
abroad and are generally not published. Third, to research and write on pandillas is
dangerous.