A female foreign tourist was
kidnapped, raped and robbed on
a minibus in Rio de Janeiro,
police said, highlighting security
concerns in the Brazilian city that
will host matches in the 2014 World Cup and will put on the
Summer Olympics two years
later. A male foreign tourist on the
minibus was also held captive
and robbed, according to Rio
police. Police said they would not
release the identities or
nationalities of the victims. The
U.S. Embassy said Monday that
one of the two is an American
citizen, but it did not say if that person is the woman or the
man. The two boarded the minibus in
the Copacabana beach district in
Rio de Janeiro early Saturday.
Three men subsequently
boarded the minibus and forced
all the other passengers off, police said. The woman was raped, and the
two passengers' credit cards
were used at multiple locations
inside and outside of Rio de
Janeiro over a span of hours, the
police said in a statement. the man was
handcuffed and beaten, while
the woman was repeatedly
raped. The two were dumped in
Itaborai, a city more than 30 miles (about 50 kilometers)
away, after six hours, According to Rio police, two men
have been arrested -- Jonathan
Foudakis de Souza, 20, and
Wallace Aparecido Souza Silva,
22. They are searching for a third
man in relation to the crime. They said a Brazilian woman
who was raped a week earlier
has also identified the suspects. Rio de Janeiro has launched a
citywide offensive against crime,
particularly drug-fueled violence
in the shantytowns. Police, backed by army troops,
have stormed the slums, hoping
to seize control from gangs and
help secure the city before many
high-profile events begin this
year.
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