Armed gang attacks, robs tourists on Chiapas highway

July 10, 2018

The highway where Sunday's robbery took place. — The highway on which Sunday's robbery took place.

Highway robbers attacked tourists traveling in Chiapas Sunday after they had visited the Palenque archaeological site.

The tourists were traveling in two vehicles on the highway between Ocosingo and Palenque when they encountered a roadblock near the town of Xanil in the municipality of Chilón.

At least 18 men armed with assault rifles approached the two vehicles and proceeded to take their belongings. When one driver tried to resist he was struck in the head and subdued by one of the attackers.

The thieves took suitcases, photographic equipment, jewelry, phones wallets and any other valuables the tourists were carrying before fleeing in a truck toward Palenque.

One of the vehicles carried a family from México state while the other was a tour company van carrying 15 Mexicans and three foreigners, one from the United Kingdom and two from South Korea.

One driver said the incident lasted about eight minutes and that the thieves were presumably indigenous, having used a local language to communicate among themselves.

The newspaper El Universal reported that robberies are continuous on the roads traversing the Altos, Norte and Frontera regions of Chiapas, and that thieves target the tourist circuits of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Toniná, Cascadas de Agua Azul, Misol Há and Palenque.