His research explores the relational dynamics of criminal organizations and state institutions in Latin America, with a particular emphasis on drug violence and policing in Brazil and Mexico. His current work in Brazil examines the state’s use of Community Policing as a strategy to reclaim and reassert its authority in poor urban communities dominated by drug trafficking gangs. He is also currently expanding his research in Mexico, looking into the politics of federal government engagement with citizen militias in the context of the country’s ongoing drug war. His recent publications can be found in Urban Geography, Policing and Society and Latin American Politics and Society.