By Herbert Hernandez GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Protesters in Guatemala angered by the brutal murders of bus drivers this week blocked traffic on Thursday demanding more security from the country's newly elected government. Over the past week, close to a dozen bus drivers and fare collectors have been murdered, with five killed on Tuesday alone. The government says it was a coordinated assault. "The situation is really bad ... nobody wants to work if they are going to get killed," said one city driver who declined to be named, as military helicopters circled above. Attacks against bus drivers are common in Guatemala, one of the most violent countries in the Americas, with 48 murdered last year. Many of the killings are blamed on violent youth gangs extorting fees from drivers. Guatemala's new left-leaning President Alvaro Colom said organized criminals trying to destabilize his government were behind the murders. "These are terrorist attacks against the government," Colom said on Thursday. "Five bus drivers were killed systematically by professionals." Colom beat a right-wing former general in last year's election promising to reduce endemic poverty and crime. Since the bookish former businessman took office he has fired 72 military and 32 police officers for suspected links to criminal gangs. Guatemala is a transit point for drug traffickers moving Colombian cocaine up through Mexico and into the United States. (Additional reporting by Brendan Kolbay, editing by Philip Barbara)
A policeman makes a report near a crashed bus in Guatemala City February 5, 2008. In four attacks around the city on Tuesday, five drivers and two assistants were shot to ...
