While there is a growing literature on criminal governance, to date limited work has focused on rural spaces and transit zones. Drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in drug trafficking hubs along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, I provide evidence and offer an initial theorization of forms of criminal governance in rural Central America. I show how both structural and individual level factors increase community support for illicit economies. I argue that rural and marginalized communities where there is widespread corruption and limited state capacity are more inclined to be supportive of and form collaborative relationships with traffickers. I argue that traffickers who are native to the community, limit their use of violence in the community, and invest economically in the community are the most likely to win the community’s support or even become viewed as Robin Hood-esque figures. In spaces where community support is low, I find traffickers may still take actions to limit crimes unrelated to their business (e.g. theft) which could draw attention from state actors and result in community frustration. Understanding community-narco dynamics is crucial to formulating effective policies to address violence in the region. Current international counter-narcotics policies are counter-productive; therefore, it should be unsurprising that certain marginalized communities support drug-traffickers who offer tangible benefits instead of counter-narcotics forces who seem to increase conflict and suppress economic activity without providing viable alternatives.

尽管关于犯罪治理的文献越来越多，但迄今为止，有限的工作集中在农村空间和过境区。我利用哥斯达黎加，尼加拉瓜和洪都拉斯加勒比海沿岸毒品贩运中心的两年来的人种志田野调查，我提供了证据并初步提出了中美洲农村地区刑事治理形式的理论。我展示了结构性因素和个人因素如何增加社区对非法经济的支持。我认为，腐败和国家能力有限的农村和边缘化社区更倾向于支持并与贩运者建立合作关系。我认为，社区内的人口贩子限制了他们在社区内使用暴力的行为，并在社区中进行经济投资最有可能赢得社区的支持，甚至被视为罗宾汉式的人物。在社区支持不足的地方，我发现贩运者可能仍会采取行动限制与他们的业务无关的犯罪（例如盗窃），这可能会引起国家行为者的注意并导致社区沮丧。了解社区麻醉药的动态对于制定有效的政策以解决该地区的暴力至关重要。当前的国际禁毒政策适得其反。因此，不足为奇的是，某些边缘化社区支持提供切实利益的贩毒者，而不是似乎增加冲突并压制经济活动却没有提供可行选择的反毒品力量。