The police of Mexico confirmed this Monday, 6, that three foreign tourists – two of Australia It is one of U.S – were murdered. Last week, the three bodies were found inside a well, shot in the head. Local authorities believe the men were attacked while trying to prevent the theft of their pickup truck.
Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, 30 and 33, and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, disappeared on April 27 during a surfing trip in Ensenada, in the state of Baja California. Their bodies were found in a 4-meter-deep well, about 6 kilometers from the site of the attack in the city of Santo Tomás, last Friday.
Abandoned tents, a burned-out white pickup truck and a phone linked to the missing surfers were found nearby. Additionally, a fourth body was found in the well, but it had been there longer and was not linked to the case, authorities said.
Investigation
Maria Andrade, state prosecutor for Baja California, said on Monday that relatives of the three men identified their bodies on Sunday 5, after traveling to Mexico to help investigations. According to her, the attackers wanted the vehicle to sell the tires and shot the tourists when they resisted the robbery. Previously, the FBI stated that it was investigating the case and liaising with international partners.
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Two men and one woman were detained on suspicion of direct or indirect involvement in the attack. A man with a criminal record was accused of “enforced disappearance”.
Violence in Mexico
Baja California is one of the most violent states in Mexico, beset by wars between local drug gangs over territory. In 2023, the region reached the second highest homicide rate in the country, after the state of Guanajuato, according to official data.
The Secretary of National Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, said earlier this year that 85% to 90% of murders committed in Baja California were connected to drug trafficking and organized crime. But the Ensenada area, about 120km from the border between the United States and Mexico and popular with surfers from around the world (especially from the US state of California), is considered safer.
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It is not the first time, however, that Australian surfers have died while on holiday in Mexico. In 2016, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman were murdered in the northwest of the state of Sinaloa when they responded during an attempted robbery. Their bodies were found in their van, which was also burned by the criminals, weeks later.
According to the US State Department, at least 1.6 million US citizens live in Mexico, which is also the main destination for American tourists worldwide, with more than 30 million visits in 2022 (the latest data available ). That year, 192 Americans died in Mexican territory, with 46 of the cases considered homicides.
Protests
The deaths sparked outrage in the Ensenada region, where dozens of protesters marched on Sunday, carrying surfboards emblazoned with slogans written in Spanish. “They just wanted to surf – we demand safe beaches,” said one poster. “Australia, we are with you,” said another.
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Afterwards, a group of surfers held a “paddling” ceremony, diving with their boards into the ocean in a vigil to honor the trio.
