First, there were the militiamen. With them you started talking, hanging around doing nothing, and they would suddenly and forcefully show you who had the most power, making shots close to your ear, firing a gun into the air so you would leave.... They would go into this or that store: “Gimme five thousand - pesos - or give me twenty thousand”, or from this house, “Gimme one thousand, and you too”.... Too complicated, people had to wake up at four or five in the morning to buy breakfast, lunch and dinner because at that time, the shooting calmed down, and they no longer had to go out into the street.
Primero existían los milicianos, con ellos, uno estaba parchado [conversando] por ahí sin hacer nada y le metían la pata a uno y le hacían balazos al oído, al aire pa’ que uno se abriera [se fuera]… Se metían a esta tienda: deme cinco mil – pesos –, o deme veinte mil, o de esta casa deme mil, y ustedes también… Demasiado complicado, la gente tenía que madrugar a las cuatro o cinco de la mañana o seis de la mañana a comprar el desayuno, el almuerzo y la comida, porque a esa hora se calmaba la plomacera [balacera] y ya no volvía a salir a la calle.