Jack Road, Callum Robinson and Jake Robinson were only alive in Mexico for one day.
The three young men crossed into Baja California from the United States on April 26, and 36 hours later they had disappeared. Eight days passed before authorities found their bodies and their families identified them. The crime has renewed fears about violence in Mexico.
The U.S. government has issued new warnings about travel to Mexico, while Australia said it was shocked by the “absolutely horrendous experience.” Mexican Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena has expressed her condolences to the victims’ families.
The case has raised international alarm. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the identification of the bodies was “frankly horrendous news.” “I think the whole country’s heart goes out to all of their loved ones. It has been an absolutely horrendous, absolutely horrific ordeal, and our thoughts are with all of them today,” he said.
Roger Cook, the premier of Western Australia, also expressed his concern about the case. “Everyone in Western Australia is suffering as we hear about more aspects of this story, the violence they were exposed to and of course the loss of life,” he said.
On Sunday, around 500 people, most of them surfers, protested in Ensenada to call for more security. In the Facebook group, Talk Baja, safety tips and suggestions for safe camping sites are being shared. The governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila, has tried to ease concern about violence in the state: “Baja California is and will continue to be a state with safe tourism for the thousands of people who visit us from the rest of the country and the world. I send my condolences and solidarity to the families at this difficult time.”
“They were not attacked for being tourists, it was with the intention of stealing a vehicle, they surely did not know the origin of these people,” said prosecutor Elena Andrade.
The case has also highlighted the difference in investigations into disappearances in Mexico. In just over a week, the Baja California Prosecutor’s Office found the bodies of the young surfers, identified the suspects and provided a hypothesis as to why the attack occurred. Meanwhile, in Baja California, more than 2,700 people remain missing, according to the Interior Ministry’s registry. In fact, in the well, where Jack Road, Callum and Jake Robinson were found, there was a fourth body. It had been there longer. Authorities still haven’t identified it.
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