CARACAS – A U.S. tourist was killed and another wounded by gunfire from pirates who tried to steal their boats from a Venezuelan island in the Caribbean, the press reported Monday.
The boaters were attacked Saturday night as their vessels were anchored off Isla Borracho, near Puerto La Cruz, located 249 miles east of Caracas.
The U.S. citizens were shot when they tried to fight off the three men who boarded their vessels.
One of the boat owners died from a gunshot to the chest, while the other was shot in the arm when he went to help his friend.
The wounded man is recovering at a hospital near the island, Venezuelan officials told the media.
The U.S. tourists, who were traveling with their wives, had been in the waters of MochimaNational Park for a week and planned to return to the United States over the weekend.
On Sept. 14, a 61-year-old French tourist was murdered on his boat when he attempted to resist a similar attack by pirates on the coast of Vargas state, north of Caracas.
–EFE
