Former top El Salvador soccer player Alfredo Pacheco shot to death – CNN

The U.S. team offered its condolences to Pacheco’s family and friends on Sunday.

The Salvadorean Soccer Federation also paid tribute to the player, saying it shared the pain and offered prayers to his family.

This year has been the deadliest on record for El Salvador, with 6,500 murders. The country experiences an average of 17 murders a day, according to police, who attribute the violence to gangs.

Other Central American nations are also plagued by rampant violent crime.

Earlier this month, Honduras national team soccer player Arnold Peralta was shot to death while on vacation in his home country, which was ranked as having the world’s highest murder rate by a U.N. report last year.