Kleptocratic Interdependence: A Case Study of El Salvador

Abstract

The activities of transnational organized crime represent one of the greatest threats to the security of the majority of states in the world. These activities deteriorate trust in state institutions, spread corruption, threaten the monopoly of the use of force and weaken the state and its legality. The consolidation of a kleptocratic interde pendence between transnational criminal organizations and state agents is necessary for the former in order to strengthen and reproduce. This symbiotic and strategic relationship between the two actors is materialized through the corruption of state agents so that transnational criminal organizations are able to obtain protection for the development of their illegal activities, while the political actors involved in the scheme manage to consolidate and reproduce their power with the financial resources provided by the illegal actors. This article applies the theory to the case of El Salvador in order to determine whether the country has established or is establishing a kleptocratic interdependence.