Using empirical data from 18 urban poor communities in Colombia and Guatemala, this paper seeks to draw connections between violence and social capital. Violence is defined, for this study, as “the use of forceful acts motivated by the conscious or unconscious desire to maintain or obtain political, economic or social power” (966). The paper sets out one hand to develop a more nuanced conception of social capital, and on the other hand to explore potential points of departure for the role of social capital in violence reduction and conflict resolution.