Spanish tourists gang raped at Mexican beach resort
Statal police escort a van with twelve Spanish citizens and a Mexican woman leaving the Office of Justice of Guerrero State in Acapulco on February 4, 2013. Acapulco’s mayor Luis Walton confirmed that six Spanish women, part of a group of 13 tourists, were raped by a band of criminals near the touristic port of Acapulco.
Six Spanish tourists were raped in their beach bungalow in Acapulco – one of Mexico's most famous holiday destinations – by a group of armed men early Monday.
During the hours-long brutal attack, the five masked men raped the women after tying up their six male friends with phone cords and bathing suit straps, Fox News Latino reported.
The Daily Mail reported the attackers spared one Mexican woman, who was in the group.
The victim's cash, credit cards and phones were taken after the assault.
The BBC said the victims reported the assault at the nearest police station at around 7:00 a.m. local time – around five hours after the attack began.
“This is a very regrettable incident that undoubtedly hurts Acapulco,” Mayor Luis Walton told a news conference late Monday.
He added that such a violent attack on tourists could have happened "in any part of the world," sinembargo.mx reported.
Walton later apologized for the comment, saying he "never intended to minimize the facts," Reforma reported.
No arrests have been made.
The tourists were staying at Playa Bonfil, located south of the city center. The women, aged around 30, are receiving counseling and consular advice, NPR reported.
Before Monday's attack, the Spanish Embassy had warned tourists that the resort city was one of Mexico's "risk zones" and "heightened caution is advised."
Acapulco is located in the state of Guerrero, which has been the scene of a violent turf war between rival drug gangs fighting for control of the region.
On Saturday, two Mexican tourists were injured after trying to drive through a roadblock set up by local vigilantes seeking to combat escalating drug-related violence.
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