There was a death summary I read in a Guatemalan newspaper, Nuestro Diario, on Nov. 24. It stated that 2,288 youths between 14 and 29 years of age were killed by gangs in the first nine months of 2014 in Guatemala. That is almost nine persons killed every day. I doubt that this count is completely accurate. There are probably more. One of the most dangerous jobs in Guatemala City is driving a bus because buses are a favorite target of extortionists. The bus owner must pay the pandilleros to go into their areas of control; if the owner does not pay the driver or driver’s helper gets shot.

Charles W. Albert

Durango