Across Central America, the fight against drugs and gangs is reshaping societies, driving migration, and trapping those who stay in harsh and often repressive conditions. This story examines the "costs of living" for those left behind, caught between cartel violence, militarised crackdowns, and authoritarian rule.

In Honduras, coca cultivation has spread exponentially since 2017, breaking the Andean monopoly on cocaine production. By 2024, the number of plantations identified and destroyed had doubled compared to 2022, when over 6.5 million plants were eradicated. Mexican cartels, seeking to cut costs and evade tensions with Colombian producers, have outsourced cultivation to Central America, making the region a key player in the cocaine supply chain. Military raids target these operations in remote, cartel-controlled areas, but arrests are rare. Communities endure poverty, insecurity, and displacement as a result. In 2022, nearly 220,000 Hondurans were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, escaping conditions tied to violence and economic instability.

In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele’s 1,000-day state of exception has slashed the homicide rate to the lowest in Latin America but at the cost of human rights. Over 83,000 people—1.8% of the population—have been detained without trial. The militarised crackdown has normalised armed patrols, checkpoints, and widespread fear. Journalists have been silenced through surveillance systems like Pegasus, forcing many into exile. While migration due to gang violence has declined, a growing number are fleeing repression and the creeping “culture of silence.” For those who remain, life under authoritarian rule demands the acceptance of control as the price of fragile peace.

This photo series captures the harsh realities of life in Honduras’ coca fields and El Salvador’s militarised streets. It focuses on the conditions forcing Central Americans to choose between staying or leaving. It documents a region caught in cycles of violence, repression, and survival, where the price of safety and order is measured in freedom lost and futures deferred.