4 Bus drivers, assistant murdered in El Salvador

San Salvador, Oct 5 (EFE).- Four bus drivers and an assistant were murdered on Monday in San Roque, a district in San Salvador province, the Salvadoran Attorney General’s Office said.

The victims were identified as Manuel Juarez de Leon, David Isaac and David Eliazar Duran Gonzalez, all drivers on Route 33, and Fernando Juarez, a fare collector on the same route.

After the attack, service on Route 33 between the city of Mejicanos and San Salvador was suspended.

The bus workers were reportedly killed by masked men early Monday in the Velis neighborhood of San Roque.

In July, bus workers suspended service for four days because of threats from the Barrio 18 gang, which had killed seven drivers and a passenger.

The government accused the Revolucionarios faction of Barrio 18 of being “responsible for sabotaging” the public transportation system to press for “some kind of deal” with authorities.

Officials deployed soldiers and armored cars to support police, and provided alternative transportation for commuters.