The dramatic episode that three Argentines suffered on Friday afternoon in the region of Costa de Oaxaca, Mexico, left one seriously injured, with a head injury, which at this time is being transferred in a helicopter to Mexico City so that he can perform a highly complex surgical intervention.
This is the Cordovan Benjamin Gamond (23) who was attacked with machetes from behind on a beach in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It all happened when a 21-year-old man arrived at the place where the young man was with two friends, Santiago Lastra (22) and Macarena González (23) and, without uttering a word, wounded them with a machete.
Santiago and Macarena received cutting injuries to hands and arms and fractures, so they were treated and are evolving favorably. On the other hand, Gamond was until this Sunday hospitalized at the Angel del Mar Hospital, in Puerto Escondido, where he recovered from hypovolemic shock and, although the parameters remain stable, he must receive surgery for the neurological injury he suffers as a result of the skull trauma.
"The concern is that he gets out of there. We don't have time, we can't wait. You have to pay and move forward. The system there is not public, it is private," pleaded Marcos Gamond, the victim's brother, in dialogue with Telam.
The medical transfer, which has an approximate value of 10 thousand dollars, must be done by helicopter to avoid the time that a long journey by land would demand. "On a plane it would be dangerous because of the issues of height and neurological injuries that Benjamin has," his brother said.
In order to unlock the payment of the transfer via helicopter to Mexico City, the family had several bank accounts for those who wish to transfer to the alias facu.gamond.
Also, the Tala Rugby Club, in which Benjamin plays, joined the collection to collaborate with the victim's family, from the official Facebook account of the sports institution.
"Benja Gamond needs our help! Benja is class 2000 of our Club and being in Mexico he suffered an attack and is in delicate health. We need the collaboration of the entire black and white family for Benja and his family, "they said from the club.
For its part, the Foreign Ministry indicated that Ambassador Carlos Tomada, together with the members of the Argentine Consulate General in Mexico, were carrying out the pertinent steps and closely following the case, after which, they contacted the parties involved in order to provide the necessary assistance.
Stopping the attacker
The municipal police arrested the suspect of the attack who was identified as Cruz Irving Martínez Flores (21), a native of Ometepec, Guerrero.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Government of Villa de Tutupetec issued a statement on Saturday, in which it "categorically" condemned the attack suffered by Argentine tourists and said that the detainee arrived in that municipality "in search of employment, so he has no relationship with the community."
From the Municipal Government they said that the suspect "was consigned to the Regional Vice Prosecutor's Office of the Coast, where the High Impact Crimes Table will be responsible for defining his legal situation."
"We ask the Prosecutor's Office of the State of Oaxaca to carry out its work in a professional manner and comply with the corresponding procedure that allows sanctioning the aggression suffered by the three Argentine tourists," concluded the mayor.
Lagunas de Chacahua, a paradisiacal place
One of the most representative protected natural areas of the coast of Oaxaca are the Chacahua Lagoons, which include the Bay and Lagoon of Chacahua and the lagoons of Tianguisto and Pastoría. They were decreed as a National Park on July 9, 1937.
In February 2008, they were declared a Ramsar site as they were on the List of Wetlands of International Importance. It is the habitat of three species of sea turtle: Laud, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley, which nest on the beaches of San Juan and Chacahua Bay.
It is protected by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for being a place of turtle spawning, from August to March. The lagoons are connected by canals which, in turn, are surrounded by mangroves and estuaries.
It is a national park full of nature, color and life. It is visited by hundreds of tourists, including Argentines, who choose it for vacation. It can be reached through federal highway number 200, which goes from Pinotepa Nacional to Huatulco.