Stores, mobile repair shops, and even stalls selling clothing are businesses whose owners have been forced to close because they would or could not pay extortion fees that “allow” them to continue to operate.

According to figures from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Atlantida (CCIA), between 200-250 businesses have stopped working this year as a result of extortion.

“Only in the first months of this year, some 150 companies had closed, and to date, between 200-250 have had to stop trading. This has impeded the recovery,” said the executive director of the CCIA, Reinaldo Escobar.

Although the violence in the city has declined in recent months, the crime of extortion has increased. This situation has even plagued schools and colleges. According to reports from the education authorities, in La Ceiba there are 15 schools, both public and private, being extorted.

The demands of these criminal groups range from 10,000 to 25,000 Lempiras, depending on the business size, and there is even talk of up to 50,000 to 100,000 Lempiras being required.

“It works for them practically, and the need to work and lack of opportunities forces us to have to comply with them, because if we work and do not pay, they threaten to kill us; then we close or pay them,” said a victim.

Many are concerned to even discuss this issue. “It is very dangerous because if you talk, they kill you, and if you want to keep working there, you have to pay them and comply with their orders. Here are groups that have defined their areas,” one transportation person said on condition of anonymity.

The neighborhoods of Pizati, Sierra Pina, el Melgar, Bonitillo, and others are some areas of the city where this type of crime is most prevalent.

There are now abandoned houses where businesses had previously operated; examples of how these extortionist gangs have overshadowed the aspirations of tens of families with an entrepreneurial mindset.

These anti-social groups do not discriminate – cooperatives, grocery stores, mobile businesses, schools, colleges and even kindergartens are all victims of this horrendous crime that in recent months has been booming in La Ceiba.

Taxis are believed to be the hardest hit, as some companies have shifted their offices to safer places, while others have had to close them down.

“On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays they came to charge. First was a Mara, the next week came another, and finally came another, and we could no longer operate there, and we had to close,” confided one carrier.

“When we opened the office, we began receiving calls and messages demanding a certain amount of money in exchange for assuring that the premises were free of assaults and robberies,” one business owner said. With so much pressure, this group decided to pay 3,500 Lempiras. “Then we were found, and they were not demanding the same amount. It got to the extent that we paid 14,000 Lempiras monthly between these three gangs, and it was better, we decided, to close,” explained the businessperson.

Three months ago, an anti-extortion unit (GOAE- Grupo de Tareas Antiextorsiones), was created by the National Police and the Attorney General to cover six regions in the country, including Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba. The results of the efforts of this task force are

still unknown.