Bus drivers in Gutemala City go on strike

The Association of Urban Transportation Workers of Guatemala announced yesterday that bus drivers in at least four neighbourhoods of Guatemala City are on strike to protest the growing wave of crimes against drivers in the City. The strike was initiated after the 16 March assassination of two drivers and an assistant in the capital. The strike reportedly left routes in the north, west and south of the capital without bus services. Union leaders did not specify how long the strike was projected to last but called on the government to increase security for drivers in Guatemala City. This year alone at least 40 drivers and their assistants have been killed as a result of spiraling violent crime. Authorities believe that much of the violence is perpetrated by youth gangs, hired by criminal organisations to extort money from the public transportation sector. Members of these juvenile gangs, known locally as "maras," reportedly demand approximately US$13 per day to allow bus drivers to travel their routes unharmed.