Gangs thriving amid political instability, political support: Guardian

The gangs are thriving not only because of the drug trade, but due to political parties employing gang members to assault opponents, destroy property, and boost numbers at rallies.

“It’s been a good few months. We’ve been doing well,” one gang leader told Guardian journalist Jason Burke, revealing that the gang had been “providing political parties with muscle to intimidate opponents, swell meetings and provide security.”

“There’s so much demand, we’ve had to appoint someone just to run that side of our operations. Requests are coming in all the time,” the gang leader told the newspaper.