Second Anniversary of Monsignor’s Northern Triangle Trip; and School Shutdowns During COVID Increase Gang Recruitment

On this week’s episode of Just Love, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan recalls the second anniversary of the fact-finding trip that Catholic Charities staff and others took to the Northern Triangle nations of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador; and a conversation on how COVID-19 school shutdowns have increased the recruitment of children by gangs across Latin America.

Cristian Benavides is a news reporter at WPIX-TV. During this week when we recall the second anniversary of the fact-finding trip that Catholic Charities staff and others took to the Northern Triangle nations of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador with Catholic Relief Services, we talk to Cristian Benavides, who accompanied us on our trip to the Northern Triangle, on the ongoing crisis conditions in the Northern Triangle that is driving migration from the region.

Kejal Vyas is a news correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones Newswire based in Bogotá, Columbia. As COVID-19 cases rage worldwide and hit record highs across the world, Kejal Vyas shares with us the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in Columbia and other countries across Latin America, and also sadly how the COVID-19 school shutdowns there have led to increased recruitment of children by gangs in the region.

Listen now: