Three Argentine tourists attacked with a machete on a beach in Oaxaca

Three Argentine tourists were attacked this weekend in Lagunas de Chacahua, a beach on the coast of Oaxaca, western Mexico. The first information suggests that the young people were in a restaurant when the aggressor, armed with a machete, pounced from behind on one of them, who suffered cuts to the head. The other two tried to interrupt the attack and also received arm and back injuries. The Oaxaca Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that one person has been arrested and brought to justice.

The Chacahua Lagoons are a paradisiacal enclave within the Oaxacan coast. Converted into a protected natural park, tourism is less crowded and access much more complicated. On Saturday, Benjamin Gamond, 23, was with two friends, Macarena Gonzalez, 29, and Santiago Lastra, 22, at a quiet beach restaurant when they were attacked. The motive for the attack is still unknown, but there were no altercations or previous discussions.

The residents of the town of La Isla called civil protection and with a boat they transferred the young people to the Zapotalito shipyard to be able to take them by ambulance. They also detained the alleged assailant, who has been identified as Cruz Irving, 21, from Ometepec, in the state of Guerrero, who had arrived in Chacahua in search of work. The hearing to decide whether he is linked to a judicial process has not yet been held.

The shocking images of Benjamin lying covered in blood on the sand have scandalized Córdoba, where the young people are from, and Argentina, where they are mobilizing to offer economic aid to the family of the young man, who is on his way to Mexico. "My younger brother who was traveling through Mexico, a few months ago he was working there, has been violently attacked. He is torn between life and death. This is an urgent call to help us be with him and accompany him," Marcos Gamond said in a video.

Benjamin suffered significant cuts to his head that caused him to lose a lot of blood. The long time that passed until he received medical attention caused him a hypovolemic shock, which together with the head trauma, have him still admitted to intensive care. He has already undergone six-hour surgery, but his prognosis is complicated. "It's very serious. He has a significant injury to his skull and face," Marcos told the newspaper Clarín. Asked by EL PAÍS, Facundo, another of the brothers, said that they preferred not to comment further for the time being: "My brother needs all our attention."

Now the Gamond family seeks to transfer the young man from a medical center, since since Saturday he has been in a small hospital in Puerto Escondido where they apparently do not have the resources to treat him. "He continues to be required for drugs to maintain pressure and mechanical ventilation with a compromise at the level of the skull. He also has a fracture with a large cut at the level of the head and bone involvement, and some brain mass with a pneumoencephalon [accumulation of air inside the skull]," the family explained.

When trying to get in to stop the aggression, González received a machete in the back and Lastra in the hands. She also had to undergo surgery, but both are out of danger. The City Council of Tutupec, where the beach where the attack took place belongs, has called for clarification of the facts: "We condemn this type of violent acts and we express that they do not define the hospitality, peace and security that these tourist destinations have offered to millions of tourists, for many years. "

In Mexico, a country that registers almost 100 homicides a day, drug violence is encircling certain tourist areas, such as the Riviera Maya, however, it was not a problem that had been registered on the tourist coasts of Oaxaca until now.

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