AFP
Mexico: Alleged bodies of missing Australian and American surfers found with bullets in the head
The three bodies found in a seaside resort on the Mexican Pacific coast correspond to three foreign surfers, two Australians and an American, who have been missing for several days, the general prosecutor’s office of the state of Baja California (northwest) said on Sunday. . “The prosecution confirms that the bodies found” correspond to the names of Jake and Callum Robinson), of Australian origin, and the American Jack Carter”, indicated a press release from the prosecution. The families of the two Australian brothers and of the American had arrived in Mexico on Sunday to formally identify the three bodies found with a bullet in the head, the prosecution had specified earlier in the day. “They all have a hole in the head produced by a gun projectile. fire”, detailed the State Attorney General, Maria Elena Andrade. One of the leads favored by investigators is that of an attempted theft of the tourists’ pick-up which apparently went wrong. The vehicle was was found burned not far from the three bodies. The two brothers, Jake and Callum Robinson, and the American Jack Carter, surfing enthusiasts, were last seen on April 27 in Bocana de Santo Tomas, a seaside resort in the municipality of Ensenada. According to Australian media , Jake Robinson, aged 30, was a doctor in the Australian city of Perth. His brother Callum was 33 years old and their American friend Jack Carter was 30 years old. Three suspects, including a woman, were arrested last Thursday for their possible direct or indirect participation in the affair, according to Mexican justice. A man was charged with “disappearance”. He has a history of violence, drug trafficking and theft. The other two people were arrested for their probable participation and for possession of methamphetamines. The prosecutor specified that once the death of the three missing surfers was confirmed, the charge would be “aggravated homicide”. – Surfers demonstration – Saturday , the prosecutor told journalists that the bodies were in an “advanced state of decomposition”, complicating their complete identification. “However, given their clothing and certain characteristics such as long hair and physical descriptions specific, the probability is high,” she said, when asked about the possibility that these were the three missing foreigners. Journalists deployed in the region saw rescue teams and forensic experts extract, at using a pulley system, what appeared to be corpses covered in mud, from a well located in a cliff above the Pacific. Another corpse was discovered in the same place, but analyzes showed that he had been there longer and had nothing to do with the disappearance of the three surfers. Callum Robinson’s Instagram account displays various photos from the trio’s trip to Mexico where they are seen enjoying beers with their feet up in the a bar, lounging in a jacuzzi, eating roadside tacos, watching the waves. The famous beaches of Baja California are frequented by many American vacationers, who take advantage of the proximity to the state border -United. But this state is also one of the most violent in Mexico due to the presence of drug trafficking cartels. In November 2015, two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were killed in the state of Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico. Violence occasionally strikes foreigners in Mexico. In March 2023, suspected members of the Gulf Cartel kidnapped four Americans in the city of Matamoros, on the US border. Two of them were killed. According to official figures, more than 41 million tourists visited Mexico in 2023, more than half of them from the United States with the country’s beaches as their main destinations. In Ensenada, very popular with Americans because it is located about a hundred kilometers from the border, dozens of surfing enthusiasts demonstrated on Sunday to demand better security measures.”Beaches, security, freedom, peace” or “No more deaths” are some of the messages that could be read on the surfboards transformed into banners, noted an AFP photographer. The wave of violence which has gripped Mexico since the launch at the end of 2006 by the federal government of an operation controversial anti-drug campaign left more than 450,000 dead and 100,000 missing.str-sem/st/ib
