( CNN ) -- In Guatemala , and other Latin American countries , it 's called `` aguinaldo '' -- the term used for the bonus government and private sector workers receive this time of the year , their right by law . The aguinaldo is equivalent to one month 's salary . In other words , workers who are eligible for this benefit get twice as much money in December as they do during each of the other 11 months of the year . The problem is that criminal extortion gangs know this and are increasingly demanding their share of this Christmas bonus . Frequent victims include city bus drivers who also get their aguinaldo . For them , extortion gangs become the Grinch who steals Christmas , and the choice they give bus drivers is harsh : either pay up or we will kill you . Jorge Garcia , a representative for the City Bus Owners Association in Guatemala City , said the extortion attempts even go beyond Christmas . `` The gangs demand a Christmas bonus . They also demand a summer bonus . Around Easter , they also want a bonus for leisure travel , '' Garcia told CNN . According to the Bus Owners Association , so far this year 87 bus drivers have been murdered by criminal gangs , who extort drivers in exchange for safe passage on specific routes . Drivers who refuse to pay face deadly consequences . Authorities say riders who take buses to go shopping are also likely to be robbed . Victims include workers who also receive their Christmas bonus . The criminals know this and board the buses with the intention of robbing them or stealing Christmas gifts they have just bought for their families . Edgar Guerra , president of the Guatemala City and Regional Bus Riders Association , said the trend is alarming . `` So far this year , when you count robberies and direct attacks , there have been 44 riders of mass transit murdered and 78 injured in these kind of violent incidents , '' Guerra said . Violence in Guatemala is nothing new . The Central American nation lived endured a civil war between 1960 and 1996 that left as many as 200,000 people killed or missing , according to some estimates . More recently , members of criminal gangs who were deported from the United States and criminals associated with Mexican drug cartels have terrorized the country . In an international travel alert published last month , the U.S. Department of State said that in Guatemala `` violent crime is a serious concern due to endemic poverty , an abundance of weapons , a legacy of societal violence , and weak law enforcement and judicial systems . '' This wave of crime affects many other people who are not necessarily directly victimized by the criminal gangs . Every time a bus driver is killed , Guerra says , up to a quarter of a million riders are affected due to cancellations in service . Guatemalan authorities say they 're taking these developments seriously , arresting many of the gangs behind the extortion schemes . ElÃ­as Pumay , an investigator with the Guatemalan Interior Ministry who specializes in solving extortion cases , says so far this year they have put 24 criminal gangs out of business with the arrest of 250 suspects . In his investigations , Pumay has noticed a puzzling new trend : `` Interestingly enough , in this type of crime 80 % of the perpetrators are women . It 's a phenomenon that we 're paying close attention to . '' Pumay believes those women are following orders from , and acting as messengers for , male gang leaders who have already been arrested and are extorting people from behind bars -- transforming a season of joy into a time of sorrow for their victims .
In Guatemala , many workers receive double pay in December . Criminal gangs target people for this 'aguinaldo ' , or Christmas bonus . Association : 87 bus drivers murdered by criminal gangs in 2012 . U.S. : Guatemala crime due to poverty , abundance of weapons , weak police .