Robbers hold up guests at luxury Rio hotel

Armed men invaded one of Rio de Janeiro's most exclusive hotels and robbed guests including foreign tourists early on Monday (July 18), police and hotel officials said.The incident is a reminder of the lingering security problems that the beachside Brazilian city faces as it prepares to host the soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later.

An official with the city's tourist police confirmed media reports that there had been an invasion of the hotel in Rio's hilly Santa Teresa district but said no further details were available. A spokeswoman for the luxurious Hotel Santa Teresa told Reuters that four armed men had held up guests, including about 10 foreign tourists.

The Globo news website cited police as saying the gunmen had entered the hotel before dawn on Monday and had all escaped. There were no reports of injuries to the guests.

Police suspects that one of the four robbers was a former employee of the hotel.

A doorman from a neighboring building who did not give his name said he saw the robbers passing on the street before and after the assault.

"There was a guy up there with a cell phone, talking or pretending that he was talking, but he was doing something and he kept looking to both sides, looking from left to right. At this time, a group passed by, I don't know where they came from, but they were probably going to the hotel. Then, after an hour, they came down, picked up the guy with the phone and left," he said.

Violent crime in Rio has fallen in recent years as authorities have taken a tougher stance on public order and police have occupied more than a dozen slums that were long dominated by gun-toting drug traffickers.

But hundreds of slums in Rio are still controlled by armed gangs. Gunmen took 35 guests hostage at another five-star hotel last August as they fled a shoot-out with police.

The Hotel Santa Teresa has become a favorite destination for well-to-do foreign visitors since it opened in 2008, with guests including celebrities paying up to about $2,000 per night for the best rooms. British singer Amy Winehouse stayed at the hotel in January during its brief tour around the country.

Rio is currently hosting 4,000 athletes from 112 countries for the World Military Games.