A “Cleansing” in the Rio Dulce

Roy McNett, editor of the Rio Dulce Chisme-Vindicator, reports the latest on the events following the murder of Anchorage-based cruiser Daniel Dryden:

"Local justice — it’s not a pretty word — may have been served on the night of August 14, when two men were killed in a shooting in the small town of Seja, about five miles from Fronteras and the Rio Dulce. The two men are believed to have been involved in the August 9 robbery and murder of Daniel Dryden on the Southern Cross 39 Sunday’s Child. Nancy, Dryden’s wife, was seriously injured in the attack, but is recovering in a hospital.

"Four men were reportedly involved in the attack on Drydens’ boat, which was anchored a short distance offshore. Two of those were reported arrested on August 14 in the village of Esmeralda, and are now in the custody of Guatemalan police. The remaining two were believed to have been killed last night in the Seja shooting. Their identities have not been made available, but several sources of the Rio Dulce Chisme-Vindicator indicate this was a ‘cleansing’ of the Dryden murder."

We’re not positive what "cleansing" means in this context, but we assume it means the police, or somebody acting for the police, acted as an on-the-spot judge, jury, and executioner for the suspects. From start to finish, what a horrible, senseless chain of events.