The Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the three

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

. The term is used with respect to the countries'

economic integration Economic integration is the unification of economic policies between different states, through the partial or full abolition of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade. The trade-stimulation effects intended by means of economic integrati ...

, and their shared challenges, including widespread poverty, violence, and corruption, which have prompted many to become

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s fleeing the three nations.Amelia Cheatham
Backgrounder: Central America's Turbulent Northern Triangle
Council on Foreign Relations. (last updated October 1, 2019). The Northern Triangle is one of the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, th ...

's poorest regions; as of 2018, all three countries were in the bottom 20% of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n nations by

GDP per capita Lists of countries by GDP per capita list the countries in the world by their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The lists may be based on nominal or purchasing power parity Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the measurement of prices i ...

. An estimated 60% of Hondurans and Guatemalans subsist below their national

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

s in those countries, much higher than other Latin American nations. Collectively, remittances make up nearly 18% of the Northern Triangle's economic output. The group of countries has signed trade agreements with Colombia, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. The agreement with Mexico began in 2001, later involved the Mesoamerica Project, and expanded to Costa Rica and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

in 2011. The Northern Triangle has struggles with chronic violence, attributable to longstanding

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

and political instability in the region. During the Cold War, these three countries were the site of proxy wars and political instability, collectively known as the Central American crisis. These wars included the

Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was a civil war in Guatemala fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups. The government forces have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population ...

and the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...

. These countries have ongoing struggles with expansive criminal networks, such as the transnational criminal organizations, including

18th Street 18th Street may refer to: Los Angeles * 18th Street gang, an Hispanic street gang Manhattan, New York City * 18th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line); a subway station serving the trains * 18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line), a ...

(M-18) and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). Harsh anti-crime policies (known as

La Mano Dura La Mano Dura ("Firm Hand" or "Iron Fist") is a set of tough-on-crime policies put in place by the Salvadoran government in response to the problem of gang violence. These policies were put in place in response to popular calls for the government t ...

), enacted by Northern Triangle governments starting in the early 2000s, in most cases failed to reduce crime and may have backfired by dramatically expanding prison populations, a fertile ground for gang recruitment. This region has one of the highest rates of intentional homicide for a country. According to the United Nations, in 2016 there were 27.26 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Guatemala, 82.84 in El Salvador, and 56.52 in Honduras. The homicide rate declined somewhat by 2019—with 22 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Guatemala, 51 per 100,000 inhabitants in El Salvador, and 40 per 100,000 inhabitants in Honduras—but remained markedly high. The Northern Triangle has also experienced high rates of both emigration and migration. Research conducted by the PEW Research Center found that between the years 2007 and 2015, the number of emigrants from this region into the US has risen by 25%. According to surveys and other research conducted in this region, the majority migration and emigration levels can be attributed to the social, economic and environmental plight they face.

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

is a major driver of emigration from the region.

References

{{coord missing, North America Central America Regions of Central America

See also

References