Peruvian Schoolkids Living In Fear Of Extortion Gangs

Racketeering is a scourge for many people in Latin America but has taken on colossal proportions in Peru where entire towns are being held to ransom by criminal groups (Credit: AFP)

First they came for shop owners and bus drivers, ordering them to pay protection money on pain of death.

Now the extortion gangs terrorising Peru have set their sights on fee-paying schools, threatening to kill staff or parents "inside or outside" the classroom unless they fork out tens of thousands of dollars.