Armed gang rapes six Spanish tourists at Acapulco resort
ACAPULCO, Mexico — Six Spanish tourists were raped by a gang of armed, masked men in the Mexican resort of Acapulco, the latest chapter of violence that has tarnished the once- glamorous Pacific Coast resort.
The vicious, hours- long attack occurred before dawn Monday at a house that six Spanish men, six Spanish women and a Mexican woman had rented on a quiet, idyllic stretch of beach on the outskirts of Acapulco.
The attackers gained access to the house because two of the Spaniards were in the yard and apparently were forced to open the door, Acapulco Mayor Luis Walton told a news conference late Monday.
The five attackers burst into the house and held the group at gunpoint, he said. They tied up the six men with phone cords and bathing suit straps and then raped the six Spanish women. The Mexican woman was not raped.
Guerrero state Attorney General Martha Garzon said the Mexican woman begged the men not to rape her and the assailants told her they would spare her because she is Mexican.
“Fortunately we have strong evidence to lead us to those responsible for this reprehensible act,” Garzon told Radio Formula.
The attack began about two hours after midnight Monday and the victims were only able to report the crime five hours later, at nearly seven in the morning.
“This is a regrettable situation, and of course it is going to damage Acapulco,” Walton said.
The once- glittering resort that attracted movie stars and celebrities in the 1950s and 1960s has already been battered by years of drug gang killings and extortions, but except for very few incidents, the violence has not touched tourists.
Walton said he believed, but wasn’t sure, that the assailants in Monday’s attack didn’t belong to a drug gang. Guerrero state Attorney General Martha Garzon Guzman said witness descriptions of the attackers were more diffi - cult to obtain because they wore masks.