Acapulco Gang Rape: 10 Things to Know, 12 Tourists Assaulted, Men Restrained with Bikini Strings
Men Tied Up with Phone Cables and Bikini Elastics
Acapulco, Mexico is one of the best tourist destinations in the world, but for six Spanish women who were gang raped by armed men and the six men who were vacationing with them, the image of the paradise has been gravely tarnished.
Here are 10 things to know about the Acapulco gang rape:
1. Spanish tourists -- six women and their respective partners -- were vacationing in Acapulco. They stayed in a beach bungalow, which was broken into by five armed and hooded men. A CNN report mentioned there was another woman with the group, but she was spared by the attackers.
2. The assault was launched while the victims were asleep at about 2 a.m. Monday at Playa Bonfil -- south of the Acapulco centre.
3. The women's partners were restrained with telephone cords and elastic bikini straps, according to Daily Mail.
4. The armed men left with the tourists' cash, credit cards, and cellular phones.
5. The victims are 20 to 34 years old, according to CNN. But Daily Mail reported the women were from 30 to 32 years old. State prosecutor Martha Elba Garzon said the victims names will be withheld for their sake.
6. Acapulco Mayor Luis Walton has condemned the attack. He had earlier said, "We know that it's very unfortunate what has happened, but it happens anywhere in the world." He later followed it up, saying, he "very much regrets the misinterpretation of his words, which were never meant to harm the victims, nor minimize the facts."
7. The gang rapists were not part of an organized crime, according to the mayor. "From what the attorney general has told me, I don't think this was organized crime... But that will have to be investigated, we don't know," he added.
8. Acapulco is part of the Guerrero state on Mexico's Pacific coast. The place is famous even to Hollywood A-listers since the 1950s. Reports of violence and drugs in the surrounding region have surfaced through the years, but the tourist spot remained "relatively safe" according to CNN.
9. The Spanish Embassy in Mexico City has said the "psychologically affected" victims were receiving consular assistance.
10. Spain's Foreign Ministry had issued via its website a travelers' advisory on Acapulco prior to the Monday assault. The resort had been called a "risk zone," according to CBC News.
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