LatinNews Daily - 18 February 2025

*A group of bus drivers from Mixco municipality, a western suburb of Guatemala City, has gone on strike after two bus drivers were shot dead in Mixco on 14 February in an armed attack which left another three injured, according to press reports. An unnamed police (PNC) official told national daily Prensa Libre that the PNC was investigating a criminal structure dedicated to extortion in Mixco and Guatemala because “some of the bus drivers collaborate with gangs”. Guatemala’s government led by President Bernardo Arévalo, which upon taking office in January 2024 declared that tackling extortion would be a priority, yesterday announced new transport measures aimed at strengthening the security of the country’s roads. Among other things, these include plans to add 792 new police ‘brigades’ to the 424 that exist currently to help address road insecurity as well as accidents. The government’s announcement also followed an incident on 10 February in which at least 54 people died when a bus fell into a ravine on the outskirts of Guatemala City, in one of the worst road accidents in the region in years.