Tour group held up at Xunantunich

The tourism industry in the Cayo District has been rebounding nicely from a string of armed robberies last year on the road to the Caracol ancient Maya site, but a hold-up at Xunantunich is once again giving cause for concern. Police report around nine-thirty this morning a group of ten tourists were robbed at gun point while exploring the ancient city overlooking the Mopan River near Succotz village. According to tour guide Hector Bol, he was leading the group when they were accosted by a single assailant with a shotgun. The man then forced the visitors to a more remote area of the ruins where three accomplices, all wielding machetes, were waiting. The tourists were then forced to give up their cash, cameras, and jewellery. Police believe that, like the Caracol bandits–who were eventually captured–the Xunantunich robbers are Guatemalans who crossed back across the nearby border following the hold-up. The previous string of armed assaults was solved with the help of Guatemalan police, and local authorities–in addition to increasing patrols at Xunantunich–are hoping to work closely with their counterparts across the frontier.