Look, I don't know wether this is legit or not, I want to believe them, but in places I don't.
Assuming it is real, while nobody deserves to get brutally attacked, these morons were asking for it.
I'm a 17 year old kid who has had the privlidge of traveling around the world, and my father never ceased to teach me important life lessons. A lot of people hate Americans. The last thing they want to see is any sign of wealth, when they are impovereshed. It just adds fuel to the fire.
They shouldn't have gone into Coca villages in their nice souped up van with their Iphones, cameras and laptops, that's just asking for trouble. Their van alone is worth more money than they've seen in a lifetime. It makes the villagers believe that these are spoiled Americans trying to piss them off. (blame it on the DEA) Then, these idiots refused to give their papers to what is not technically a Peruvian police force, but is far more legitimate in these remote villages than the real one. If they gave them their papers, shit probably would not have gone down the way it did. Finally, they should have handed the villagers some valuables and smiled as they presented them with the gifts. That would have been the difference between robbery and death. Trying to drive away and maseing the locals isn't going to help. Not to mention they didn't speak the language.
It's hard to feel bad for them when they made so many mistakes. It's like buying a Porsche, parking it in the middle of the city with the keys in it, unlocked with a note saying steal this car.