University of Chicago’s political scientist and expert in criminal governance explains how Latin American gangs were transformed into Criminal Leviathans capable of deploying their power over vast territories. He warns that repressive, mano dura (“iron fist”) policies and practices do not stop this process but instead drive it. This interview is an academic-journalistic effort that is part of the series Violent Democracies by the Vio-Demos Millennium Institute and TerceraDosis.