such as governments, legal systems and the police, and have wreaked havoc on three levels of security -national security, public security and citizen security. Not only are the maras believed to be penetrating the police force, political groups and non-governmental organizations in all the countries in which they develop, but they also have established small businesses and competed unfairly since they use violence against competitors . As a consequence, the Central American democracies are seriously jeopardized. Three levels of security are at risk in Central America. National security It refers to the security of the nation-state and safeguarding the state's sovereignty over the territory and population inside its borders through the police force. Public security It is to do with the government intends to maintain the necessary civil order for the development of basic societal functions such as commerce, transport and communications. Citizen security It alludes to the efforts of the national government to secure the exercise of the economic, political and civil right on the part of the citizens. Measures taken by the governments to protect the citizens from the maras In 2003, in Honduras, the president responded to the mara problem by forcing a change in the country’s penal code, establishing a maximum 12-year sentence for gang membership and he increased the sentence to 30 years and put the army on the street to support the nation’s 8,000 police officers. The draconian anti-gang legislation in El Salvador is known as the Super Hard Hand “Super Mano Dura”. It consists of Salvadoran authorities arresting youths simply for having gang-related tattoos or flashing signs. Moreover, gang members have to serve up to five years in prison and gang leaders up to nine. The Guatemalan Congress has passed an anti-gang law based on army troops' presence supporting neighborhoods invaded by gangs in Guatemala City. In Panama, in contrast, the government has implemented a program called Friendly Hand ("Mano Amiga") aimed at giving at-risk youngsters positive alternatives to being a gang member. They resorted to theatre programs and sport activities. At the international level, in January 2004, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican Republic officials joined to create a criminal organizations database to better track movements of the maras in the region. In June 2004, at the Summit of Central American Presidents, a plan to combat the maras known as "Plan Centroamerica Segura" Central America Security Plan was proposed. In 2005 the