Extortion and Bus Drivers in Guatemala

The Christian Science Monitor recently published a story about the violent life of Guatemalan bus drivers.  While many of the stories are familiar to readers of this blog and others covering events in Central America, it was interesting to read that as of mid-2007 the killing of bus drivers drew outrage. 

At the time [August 2007], Mr. Chivalan's death was a front-page story in Guatemalan tabloids...Since then, the killing of bus drivers has become a footnote in this country's violent downward spiral, in which Escobar has seen neighbors become widows.

I was last in Guatemala in June 2007.  I remember hitting the ground because gunshots had rung out somewhere nearby.  It turned out that there had been an exchange of gunfire about one-half block away following a traffic altercation (someone on a motorcycle had cut someone else off).  One guy that I saw had been shot and killed while another had been shot, but was still breathing.  I don't know what happened to him in the end.

I never had any problems on the buses in Guatemala, either in the capital or between departments.  However, I'll probably spend more time traveling by cab when I go to Guatemala City this July to carry out some research.  Let's hope that this trip is uneventful.