Italian hotelier shot dead in Mexico: officials

• Raphael Alessandro Tunesi was shot as he drove to pick up his daughters from school.
• He owned the Quinta Chanabnal, a luxury hotel inspired by nearby Mayan ruins.
• Organized crime groups demanding extortion payments from merchants in area, friend says.

An Italian businessman and owner of a well-known hotel in southern Mexico was shot and killed in the town of Palenque where he lived, according to local authorities.

Raphael Alessandro Tunesi was shot midday Friday as he prepared to pick up his daughters from school, according to the Chiapas prosecutor’s office.

“Police officers who arrived found him inside a vehicle… with several bullet wounds,” the office said.

Tunesi had been living in Chiapas for several years and was considered an expert on Mayan culture.

Together with his Mexican wife, he owned the Quinta Chanabnal, a luxury hotel inspired by nearby Mayan ruins, and which has been the scene of film shoots.

A family friend who asked not to be named for security reasons told AFP that Tunesi was highly respected in the Palenque community.

The friend said organized crime groups had been demanding extortion payments from merchants and businesses in the area, an important center of Mayan culture and whose archeological riches draw tourists from Mexico and abroad.

Officials said an investigation into the killing has been launched.

Attacks on businesses have increased across Mexico, according to authorities, as retaliation for refusing to pay extortion demands made by crime syndicates.

On May 24, 11 people were killed in attacks on two bars and a hotel in Celaya, Celayastate, central Mexico.

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