"Root out corruption in the Central American ruling class, and the gangs and crooks will go down with it."

Jose Miguel Cruz rightfully criticizes the Trump administration's infatuation with MS-13 and other street gangs in the US and Central America. The administration is really taking us back a decade or more to a time when mano dura policing and the criminalization of low-income youth caused a spike in violence throughout Central America. While we should not take our eyes off the havoc caused by street gangs, they should not distract from efforts to support political reform in Central America.

The whole idea that the U.S. government can make America safer by getting tough on crime in Central America is questionable. But if the Trump administration wants to try, it should at least start at the top.

Political institutions in the grip of organized crime use their power to erode the democratic rule of law in the region. They shield criminal organizations in exchange for economic support and political backing in gang-controlled barrios.

Root out corruption in the Central American ruling class, and the gangs and crooks will go down with it.

Revelations that both the ARENA and FMLN parties negotiated with street gangs during the 2014 presidential contest have not led to serious investigations by the attorney general's office of any political officials. Revelations of the relationships between drug traffickers and Honduran political and economic elites have just scratched the surface. Far from paradise, Guatemala's attorney general and CICIG are models for the region. The US must continue its support for strong, independent attorneys general (Paz y Paz and Aldana) and collaborative initiatives (CICIG).

US policy towards gangs and corruption in Central America does not seem to have changed dramatically since Trump assumed office. That's a positive. However, we should worry that how AG Sessions and President Trump speak about gang violence in the US will enter into US policy towards the region. We and our Northern Triangle partners have been there and done that. And it wasn't pretty.