International Protection for Victims of Gang Violence: Central American Asylum Claims in Spanish Jurisprudence

Abstract Gang violence is pervasive, high-risk, and often involves targeted individuals, yet difficulties frequently arise in recognising international protection during refugee status determination (RSD). Closer analysis reveals that victims may fall within the scope of refugee protection under the the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and EU asylum law. This article explores the interplay between gang-related violence and international protection, focusing on the North of Central America – El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala – a region plagued by systemic violence primarily due to the activity of a kind of criminal gang known as maras. Despite severe violence, asylum claims by nationals of these countries are systematically denied in Spain, which receives the most such claims in the EU. Rejections are often based on standardised decisions lacking robust motivation and stem from a misinterpretation of the international and EU asylum regimes. By analysing global refugee case law, this article aims to highlight shortcomings in Spanish jurisprudence and show how EU asylum law can better address such claims, contending that Spanish judicial reasoning needs stronger argumentative tools to align gang-based asylum claims with a more coherent understanding of the international protection regime.