A pack of masked and hooded gunmen broke into a beach bungalow near Acapulco, Mexico and raped six female tourists after tying up a group of men with cell phone cables and bikini straps

The victims - Spanish nationals in their 20s on vacation - are now under the protection of Mexican authorities. Spanish officials have been notified. Acapulco, in the mountainous state of Guerrero on Mexico's Pacific coast, was thought of as a relatively safe city despite rampant violence in the surrounding region. But a recent uptick in drug-related killings has compounded fiscal troubles brought on by the global financial crisis in the once glamorous Hollywood haunt. After a series of gruesome murders in Guerrero, American and British authorities issued travel warnings. In recent years, Mexico's drug wars are thought to have impacted the city's tourism sector as rival cartels vie for control of drug routes originating in South America. It is not clear if the attack was drug-related. The U.S. State Department said that resort city bars in Mexico, including those in Acapulco, can be havens for drug dealers and petty criminals. Spain's Foreign Ministry advises travelers that they can be victims of assaults and robberies in Mexico. It said that the mountainous state of Guerrero should especially be avoided, and that if travelers go there then they should proceed with extreme caution. In Acapulco, organized crime has carried out many violent incidents.