cancun mexico tourist killed 2023

Four killed near Cancun beach resorts; two suspects detained, Mexican officials say

Mexican officials confirmed Monday they discovered four dead bodies in a hotel area in the popular resort town of Cancun. 

The deaths, ruled homicides, took place on Kukulcán boulevard near the popular Paradisus Cancun and Fiesta Americana resorts , according to the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s office , and come just weeks after the U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a travel advisory for popular spring break tourist destinations in Mexico, including Cancun. 

Mexican officials say they swept the area near the hotel and detained two suspects. 

“The victims are connected with drug dealing activities, ruling out that they might be hotel workers or tourists,” said Quintana Roo security official José de la Peña Ruiz de Chávez .

Last week, an American tourist took a bullet to the leg in a late night shooting by assailants in Puerto Morelos, a small resort town just south of Cancun. The tourist survived, but the motive for the attack was unclear. 

$40,000 reward: FBI offers reward after American woman kidnapped in Mexico while walking her dog

Should travelers worry?: Travel experts discuss safety in Mexico.

Quintana Roo officials on Monday offered the public a 1,000,000 Mexican peso, roughly $55,000, reward for information leading to the arrest of a third suspect identified in the Cancun killings as Héctor Elías Flores Aceves, known as “El 15,” a suspected Sinaloa Cartel operative in the area who has in the past been linked by Mexican news reports to other attacks in Cancun. 

Monday’s killings unfolded as many in the country set off on spring break vacation, which typically lands on Holy Week or “Semana Santa” leading up to Easter Sunday. 

Quintana Roo, a tropical state on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, is on the State Department’s “Exercise Increased Caution” list due to “crime and kidnapping” risk.

The State Department has warned Americans not to travel to a handful of other Mexican states, including Tamaulipas, where two Americans were abducted and two were killed last month in the border city of Matamoros. 

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Mexican police arrest members of drug gang behind the alleged killing of 8 people in Cancun

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors said Monday they have arrested six members of a drug gang in the Mexican resort of Cancun that allegedly killed and hacked up five people with a machete, and dumped three other victims in a shallow grave.

The gang, which prosecutors say also engaged in extortion, was protected by a network of motorcycle taxis and minors who acted as lookouts.

Authorities also announced the arrest of 23 people on charges they operated a fake tour agency that served as a cover for drug sales in Cancun.

The suspects operated a call center in which they offered sports equipment and tour packages to tourists, but then failed to deliver them. On the second floor they had a complex operation in which drug deals were allegedly made over the phone and delivered by motorcycle.

Another suspect was arrested in Cancun who allegedly both ordered drugs on social media sites — which were delivered to him by express package service — and sold them also on social media, with home delivery included.

The revelations Monday came one day after prosecutors confirmed an American woman and a man from Belize were shot to death late last week in what appears to have been a dispute between drug dealers at a beach club in the resort city of Tulum, south of Cancun.

Prosecutors in Quintana Roo stressed the American woman had no connection to an alleged drug dealer also killed in the shooting Friday night. The woman appeared to have simply been caught in the crossfire.

Prosecutors said the dead man had cocaine and pills in his possession when he was killed, and was believed to be a dealer. They said the suspects in the shootings had been identified and were being sought.

The degree to which drugs are available in Mexico’s Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo is sometimes startling.

Last year, authorities shuttered 23 pharmacies at Caribbean coast resorts, six months after a research report warned that drug stores in Mexico were offering foreigners pills they passed off as Oxycodone, Percocet and Adderall without prescriptions.

Foreign tourists have been killed in the past after getting caught in drug gang shootouts in the once-tranquil beach resort.

In 2021 in Tulum, two tourists — one German and a California travel blogger born in India — were killed while eating at a restaurant . They apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.

Last year, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert warning travelers to “exercise increased situational awareness” especially after dark, at Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

Tourists, however, continue to stream into Mexico’s Caribbean coast, the country’s leading tourist destination. Mexico’s tourism department released figures Monday showing foreign tourists spent almost $31 billion in all of Mexico in 2023, up 10% from 2022. About half of all foreigners visiting Mexico go to Cancun.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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Four bodies found near beachside resort in Mexico’s Cancún

Identities and nationalities of the victims yet to be revealed, article bookmarked.

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Four bodies have been recovered near a beach in Mexico ’s Cancún in the latest apparent incident of violence against tourists in the resort town.

Officials said three bodies were found on Monday in an area along Kukulkan Boulevard, near one of Cancún’s beachside hotels.

A fourth body was found in the undergrowth on the same lot.

Reports said there was no clarification on the identities of the four victims.

Investigators have not attributed any cause to the deaths so far. Prosecutors from Mexico’s Quintana Roo, however, said two suspects had been detained.

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This comes just a few days after an American tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.

US state and federal officials had earlier in March issued warnings to Americans travelling to Mexico for the spring break, citing escalating violence in the region.

The US State Department issued an alert on 13 March advising potential travellers to be aware of the risk of violent crime, drugs, unregulated alcohol and sexual assault.

“Crime, including violent crime, can occur anywhere in Mexico, including in popular tourist destinations,” it read.

“Travellers should maintain a high level of situational awareness, avoid areas where illicit activities occur, and promptly depart from potentially dangerous situations.

“US citizens should exercise increased caution in the downtown areas of popular spring break locations including Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum , especially after dark,” it added.

In a separate incident, a group of American tourists was taken hostage on 3 March after entering the state of Tamaulipas in Matamoros – an area dominated by Mexico’s Gulf cartel .

It was later reported that two Americans in a group of four friends who were kidnapped during a trip to Mexico were found dead.

The Americans, who had driven from South Carolina, came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck.

Tamaulipas governor Américo Villarreal revealed on a call during a Tuesday evening press conference that two of the victims, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, had been found dead.

Eric James Williams was wounded on his leg while LaTavia “Tay” McGee was unharmed – they are back in the US, according to the Tamaulipas Attorney General.

The US officials familiar with the investigation were quoted as saying by CNN that authorities believe a Mexican cartel mistook the victims for Haitian drug smugglers.

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Four dead in drug-related shooting on Mexico beach in Cancun

Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 300,000 people killed since 2006.

A shooting involving suspected drug dealers has killed four people on a beach in Mexico’s popular Caribbean resort of Cancun.

The latest outbreak of violence in the city’s hotel zone on Monday came as tourists flocked to Mexico’s Riviera Maya during the Easter holiday period.

Keep reading

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Authorities detained two suspects who “apparently are related to drug dealing activities”, said Jose de la Pena, a security official in Quintana Roo state, where Cancun is located.

Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 300,000 people killed since the government deployed the military in the so-called war on drugs in 2006.

While Quintana Roo is generally considered safer than much of the rest of the country, there has been an increase in violence linked to gang turf wars in recent years, prompting security forces to step up patrols.

In October 2021, two tourists from Germany and India were killed in a shootout between suspected gang members at a restaurant in the resort of Tulum.

The following month, two suspected drug dealers were killed in a shooting that sent tourists in swimsuits fleeing in panic from a beach near Cancun.

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Mexico: authorities find 8 bodies in cancun resort as drug cartel violence rages.

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The bodies of eight people were found dumped in the Mexican resort of Cancun, one of the country’s most popular tourism destinations, authorities said Tuesday.

The bodies were discovered over the weekend about 10 miles from Cancun’s beach and hotel zone after police launched a coordinated effort to search for missing people in wooded lots and even sinkhole ponds, also known as cenotes , Mexican authorities said.

Oscar Montes de Oca, the head prosecutor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, said five of the bodies were found at an abandoned construction site.

Three were subsequently identified as previously reported missing people.

Three sets of skeletal remains were discovered at a separate site in a wooded area on the outskirts of Cancun near a poor neighborhood, close to the resort’s airport, authorities said.

They have not yet been identified.

Montes de Oca said authorities estimated the bodies were dumped there between one week and two months ago.

According to the government, more than 112,000 people are listed as missing throughout the country.

While crimes are more common in other areas of the country, Cancun and other resorts were typically regarded as safe travel destinations.

Drug cartels have begun disposing of the bodies of their victims in clandestine body dumping grounds, especially as several cartels fight for control of the Caribbean coast and its drug trade.

Authorities carried out similar searches in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, about 140 miles south of Cancun.

Volunteers, including the relatives of missing people, assisted investigators in the searches.

Search dogs were also used.

Earlier this month, four men were killed in Cancun following a dispute related to drug gang activity .

The dead men were found in the city’s hotel zone near the beach.

A US tourist was also shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos in March.

Cancun remains the top destination for Americans vacationing in Mexico.

The US State Department issued travel guidance last month that warns travelers to “exercise increased caution,” especially near resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum anytime after dark.

In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen , about 40 miles south of Cancun.

In 2021, in the town of Tulum — about 80 miles south of Cancun — two foreign tourists including one American and one German were killed when they were apparently caught by gunfire from rival drug dealers.

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5 arrested after suspected cartel killings near Cancún beach resort

Four alleged drug dealers ‘were executed on the spot,’ a person close to the investigation says

Mexican government officials sought to reassure tourists in the popular resort destination of Cancún that they are safe after four bodies were found in the area’s hotel zone this week.

Police responded to an emergency call Monday morning from an area near the Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancún, an all-inclusive beachfront hotel. Investigators first found three bodies, but later discovered a fourth in some bushes, according to the Quintana Roo state attorney general’s office .

The four — all Mexican nationals — “were executed on the spot,” according to a person close to the investigation. The Coordination Group for the Construction of Peace and Security in Quintana Roo, a coalition of military and law enforcement, said in a statement Tuesday that the victims were believed to be selling and distributing drugs.

Is it safe to travel in Mexico?

The person close to the investigation said five suspects are in custody, including two who were captured on security camera carrying out executions. The killings were part of an internal dispute over drug-dealing between members of the Sinaloa cartel , the person said. Following the killings, state prosecutors offered a reward of 1 million pesos (about $55,000) for the location of Héctor Elías Flores Aceves, a leader known as “El 15.”

The coordination group said that while the deaths took place in the hotel zone, the incident did not pose a risk to visitors, hotel employees or businesses because it unfolded in the brush.

Cartel RX: From Mexican labs to U.S. streets, a lethal drug pipeline

Monday’s ordeal during the busy lead-up to Easter was the latest blow to Mexico’s tourism reputation. Last week, a tourist from the United States was shot in the leg in Puerto Morelos, south of Cancún, the Associated Press reported .

A dramatic scene unfolded in Cancún in late 2021 when tourists fled the beach for safety amid a shootout that state officials said was between rival cartels. Two people affiliated with the gangs were killed, state officials said, and one hotel guest was injured.

The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico issued a spring break travel alert in mid-March warning travelers to avoid drugs and unregulated alcohol and to be on the alert for criminal activity.

“Crime, including violent crime, can occur anywhere in Mexico, including in popular tourist destinations,” the alert says. “Travelers should maintain a high level of situational awareness, avoid areas where illicit activities occur, and promptly depart from potentially dangerous situations.”

But the State Department does not warn against travel to Quintana Roo, telling tourists only to “exercise increased caution.”

Law enforcement authorities in the state said operations are still underway at beaches, nightclubs and other tourist spots to ensure safety in the week leading up to Easter.

The Hotel Association of Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres praised the response to the killings in a statement.

“While our main priority is the safety and security of our visitors, workers and of every Mexican citizen, during this unfortunate incident, their safety was never at risk,” the association said. “Alongside our local and national government officials, we can assure our guests of their physical wellbeing and continued enjoyment of their vacation.”

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Arrests made in Cancun after 5 dismembered bodies found in taxi, 3 other victims dumped in shallow grave

February 13, 2024 / 6:34 AM EST / CBS/AP

Prosecutors said Monday they have arrested six members of a drug gang in the Mexican resort of Cancun that allegedly killed and hacked up five people with a machete, and dumped three other victims in a shallow grave.

Authorities said that five dismembered bodies were found inside a taxi on January 29 and three bodies were later found in a grave, one of which has been identified.

The gang, which prosecutors say also engaged in extortion, was protected by a network of motorcycle taxis and minors who acted as lookouts. Authorities said two minors were arrested in addition to the six alleged gang members.

Authorities also announced the arrest of 23 people on charges they operated a fake tour agency that served as a cover for drug sales in Cancun.

The suspects operated a call center in which they offered sports equipment and tour packages to tourists, but then failed to deliver them. On the second floor they had a complex operation in which drug deals were allegedly made over the phone and delivered by motorcycle. Authorities conducting a search of the property allegedly found marijuana, methamphetamines, cell phones, bank cards, laptops and seven motorcycles.

Another suspect was arrested in Cancun who allegedly both ordered drugs on social media sites - which were delivered to him by express package service - and sold them also on social media, with home delivery included.

The revelations Monday came one day after prosecutors confirmed an American woman and a man from Belize were shot to death late last week in what appears to have been a dispute between drug dealers at a beach club in the resort city of Tulum, south of Cancun.

Prosecutors in Quintana Roo stressed the American woman had no connection to an alleged drug dealer also killed in the shooting Friday night. The woman appeared to have simply been caught in the crossfire.

Prosecutors said the dead man had cocaine and pills in his possession when he was killed, and was believed to be a dealer. They said the suspects in the shootings had been identified and were being sought.

Violence persists on Caribbean coast

The degree to which drugs are available in Mexico's Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo is sometimes startling.

Last year, authorities shuttered 23 pharmacies at Caribbean coast resorts, six months after a research report warned that drug stores in Mexico were offering foreigners pills they passed off as Oxycodone, Percocet and Adderall without prescriptions.

Foreign tourists have been killed in the past after getting caught in drug gang shootouts in the once-tranquil beach resort.

In 2021 in Tulum, two tourists - one German and a California travel blogger born in India - were killed while eating at a restaurant. They apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.

Last April, eight bodies were found dumped in Cancun. Just days before that,  four men in Cancun were killed  in a dispute related to drug gang rivalries. The dead men were found in the city's hotel zone near the beach.

Last year, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert warning travelers to "exercise increased situational awareness" especially after dark, at Mexico's Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

Tourists, however, continue to stream into Mexico's Caribbean coast, the country's leading tourist destination. Mexico's tourism department released figures Monday showing foreign tourists spent almost $31 billion in all of Mexico in 2023, up 10% from 2022. About half of all foreigners visiting Mexico go to Cancun.

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Tourist killings expose fragmentation of organised crime at the heart of Mexico’s extraordinary violence

The murders of two Australians and an American in Baja California show the shifting and uncertain fault lines of risk in a country where crime and the state often overlap

T he killings of the Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend, Jack Carter Rhoad, have highlighted the shifting and uncertain fault lines of risk in Mexico , which is simultaneously a major tourism destination and a country with hotspots of extraordinary violence.

The trio, who in April went missing in the Pacific coast state of Baja California while on a surfing trip, were later found dead, each killed by a gunshot to the head. Mexican authorities believe that they were attacked by people who wanted to steal their car tyres and were killed upon resisting .

The man accused of the killings, Jesús Gerardo known as “El Kekas”, is currently in custody, with murder charges expected to be filed. His girlfriend, who was also taken into custody, has reportedly turned witness against him , telling a court he said to her “I killed them”, gave her a mobile phone and showed her the allegedly stolen tyres on her car.

The murders are part of the violence that grips Mexico, which in 2023 saw more than 30,000 homicides for the sixth consecutive year. More than 100,000 people are also missing .

But beneath the national-level statistics, violence is hyper-concentrated in certain states.

“Baja California is one of them – but even there the bulk of homicides occur in Tijuana, and mostly in the poor areas,” said Falko Ernst, Mexico analyst for the nonprofit Crisis Group.

The violence in Baja California reflects the sheer volume of criminal business in the state, but also the instability of the criminal system itself.

Tijuana is the biggest border city in Mexico, which means huge flows of people, goods and cash going to and from the US every day. That makes Tijuana itself a prize to control, with a big local drug market and opportunities for money laundering.

Organised crime groups also have an interest in other parts of the state, for example the port in Ensenada – the nearest city to where the tourists’ bodies were found – which brings in drugs and chemical precursors for synthetics such as fentanyl and crystal meth.

Many groups are fighting to control these territories and businesses across Baja California.

“Tijuana is an emblem of the fragmentation of organised crime, where you don’t have one group running the show, but many,” said Ernst. “What ensues is perpetual fighting.”

This has been made more deadly by the torrent of US-made firearms trafficked over the border to Mexico. “Over the last couple of decades, guns have proliferated,” said Victoria Dittmar, a researcher for Insight Crime. “Now, anyone who wants a pistol can get one easily.”

Despite the violence, many tourists are drawn to Baja California for the beaches, waves and wildlife along a peninsula that stretches down to the resort towns of Los Cabos, on the southernmost tip of the state of Baja California Sur.

Given the number of visitors, it is striking how rare it is for tourists to be targeted. This is in part because organised crime groups also make money from the tourism industry – for example by extorting hotels, restaurants and nightclubs – and therefore rely on the continued flow of tourists.

“The fish you eat at that fancy restaurant may be subject to a kind of criminal taxation,” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, a researcher at the University of California at San Diego. “There could be a whole structure of criminal governance of which the tourist is unaware.”

However, crime in Mexico is far from perfectly organised. There are independent actors and local cells making decisions on the ground and in the moment.

“We’re also talking about a world that is hyper-paranoid,” said Ernst. “If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, and somebody panics and thinks that there might be a risk for them, mistakes can be made.”

The speed of the investigation that followed the disappearance of the three surfers in Baja California reflects local authorities’ desire to relieve the external pressure and reassure tourists that they are safe in the state. Within days of the tourists being reported missing, three suspects were detained and the bodies were found at the bottom of a well on remote ranch land.

This is in a state where more than 80% of homicides go unpunished and roughly 20,000 people remain missing since 2006.

According to the Daily Beast , a member of the Sinaloa Cartel – one of Mexico’s largest organised crime groups – claimed to have tipped the authorities off on where to find the suspects so as to avoid “unwanted attention”.

“I think this case tells us a lot about how crime and the state tend to overlap in Mexico,” said Ernst. “Intelligence is not the problem – the problem is corruption and collusion, with many security forces on the take or even part of criminal networks.

“But if there’s external pressure, if elite and economic interests are potentially being affected, then the Mexican state is capable of getting things done.”.

“Sadly, there are tiers of victims. If you’re a foreigner, it is very likely they will find your remains,” said Farfán-Méndez. “But if you’re Mexican, you may never be found.”

Most viewed

What to know about traveling to Mexico after 4 Americans were kidnapped

Some states have "do not travel" warnings, while others are safer for travelers.

Mexico is a longstanding popular travel destination for Americans, but is in the spotlight after four were kidnapped at gunpoint in Tamaulipas over the weekend. Two were killed, while the remaining two are back in the U.S.

AAA reported that international travel is up 30% as compared to last year, and Cancun, Riviera Maya and Mexico City are listed as top spring break destinations.

A source close to the investigation told ABC News that investigators believe the gunmen wrongly believed the kidnapped Americans were rival human traffickers who were in an area of Mexico categorized as “do not travel.”

The State Department had previously issued six level four “do not travel” warnings to parts of Mexico.

“The travel advisory for Tamaulipas state remains at level four -- do not travel. We encourage Americans to heed that advice,” Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, said on Tuesday.

Along with Tamaulipas, the State Department as “do not travel” warnings for Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Zacatecas. Level four travel warnings are also instituted in places such as North Korea and Afghanistan.

MORE: New dashboard lets parents see if they can sit with kids for free on flights

The most popular Mexican tourist destinations have been rated a level two by the State Department, where travelers are advised to “exercise increased caution.” This is the same rating given to France, Germany, the U.K. and a dozen other countries.

Violence in Cancun sparked headlines in 2021 after multiple shootings took place near popular beaches, including a shootout at a beach between rival gangs, which left tourists hiding behind beach chairs.

Mexico has since dispatched hundreds of national guardsmen to patrol beaches along its Atlantic coast.

Expert tips to stay safe when traveling abroad

“Passenger volume between the U.S. and Mexico this January, January 2023 actually up 24% compared to the same month in 2019,” Scott Keyes, the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, told “Good Morning America.”

“You're not seeing a huge increase in prices to places like Cancun or Cabo because airlines see that rise in demand and have responded by adding capacity, adding flights to the schedule, larger planes.”

As with all international travel, experts advise avoiding traveling with large sums of money or all of your important documents, using trusted taxis only and staying clear of anywhere you might find drugs being sold.

“It's important to keep it in perspective, most areas that you can be traveling in and that you can feel safe and secure as long as, again, you're taking those sort of standard common sense precautions,” said Keyes.

Shannon Crawford and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.

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Where 3 Dead Tourists Were Found Fast, Thousands Remain Missing

In Mexico, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared, the robust operation to quickly find the remains of three foreigners, from Australia and the United States, felt like a rare exception.

By Emiliano Rodríguez Mega

Reporting from Mexico City

When two Australian brothers drove down to Mexico’s northwest coast from San Diego last week with their American friend, they were looking to catch the crisp waves that make Baja California a popular destination among travelers from across the world.

But soon after arriving to the Mexican city of Ensenada, Callum Robinson’s Instagram posts of his surf adventure ceased. The group stopped answering calls and texts.

He and his brother Jake never showed up at an Airbnb they had booked, their mother said in a social media post, pleading for help from anyone who had seen her two sons.

On Sunday, Mexican authorities announced that the bodies of the three tourists, found at the bottom of a well with gunshot wounds to their heads, had been identified by their families .

The men had been killed in a carjacking gone wrong, the authorities said, and suspects had been detained within days of the men’s disappearance. More people are being investigated.

It was a tragic yet somewhat fast resolution to a case that had drawn international attention.

For many local Mexicans, however, the quick response from the authorities to locate the Robinson siblings and Jack Carter Rhoad, the American, and make arrests seemed to be an exception in a country where tens of thousands of missing-person cases have sat for years without ever being solved.

The government said in March that about 100,000 people are missing in Mexico, though the United Nations says that could be an undercount.

“It is very difficult, except for high-profile cases like the one that just happened, for the authorities to immediately trigger the search,” said Adriana Jaén, a sociologist based in Ensenada who provides legal, emotional and logistical support to people searching for their missing loved ones.

Federal and state officials in Mexico tend to claim that violence levels have dropped even as official data contradicts them. The local authorities have themselves been involved in disappearances — in Baja California, municipal police officers from Ensenada were recently accused in the disappearance of one man. And then there’s also a lack of resources to investigate.

So it’s noticeable when a case appears to receive special attention.

“The message those of us who work on these issues get is that there are lives that matter,” Ms. Jaén added, “and there are others that don’t.”

There are more than 17,300 active disappearance investigations in Baja California state, according to government data provided to Elementa DDHH, a human rights group that has studied the disappearances in the state.

In many instances, it’s unclear whether the missing person was found; if they were the victim of a crime; and, if so, whether anyone was arrested. Some cases even lack even basic information for beginning a search, a government recount of the disappeared found last year .

“We don’t know exactly how many people are missing and how many have been located,” said Renata Demichelis, the Mexico director of Elementa DDHH. “The authorities don’t tell us.”

The available data, however, offer a hint of the problem’s magnitude.

In 2017, state prosecutors opened about 760 disappearance investigations in Baja California. In five years, the number jumped more than threefold, according to Elementa DDHH .

“This is an ongoing phenomenon, and it’s increasing exponentially,” said Ms. Demichelis, adding that several factors are contributing to the worsening disappearance crisis in Baja California, such as drug trafficking, internal displacement, migration and gender violence.

The state’s attorney general, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, said in an interview that prosecutors have so far ruled out the possibility that the killing of the Robinson brothers and Mr. Rhoad was linked to organized crime groups.

Those responsible had tried to seize the tourists’ pickup truck, she said. When they resisted, a man took out a gun and killed them.

“This aggression seems to have occurred in an unforeseen, circumstantial manner,” Ms. Andrade Ramírez said. “They took advantage when they saw the vehicle out in the open, in that remote location, where they knew that there were no witnesses.”

In a news conference this weekend, a reporter asked Ms. Andrade Ramírez if one needs to be a foreigner in Baja California to have state authorities act as swiftly as they did in the case of the missing tourists.

“Every investigation has its own process,” the attorney general answered. “And there are times when we have to take care of every detail, which takes a certain amount of time, to achieve a good result.”

On Sunday, after the victims’ families identified the bodies in the morgue, Adriana Moreno, a local resident, said she felt conflicting emotions.

“I’m so glad they found them so quickly. That’s my joy, my satisfaction,” said Ms. Moreno, 60. She has been looking for her son, Víctor Adrián Rodríguez Moreno, since 2009, when he and two of his co-workers — employees of an import business — were abducted in the northern state of Coahuila.

“But 15 years after the disappearance of my boy, there’s nothing,” Ms. Moreno said. “They make me feel like missing people come in levels of importance.”

Emiliano Rodríguez Mega is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Mexico City, covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. More about Emiliano Rodríguez Mega

Breaking News

Three surfers on a dream trip to Mexico were brutally killed. Here’s what we know

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A trio of tourists on a surfing trip in Mexico were living an idyllic life. They were posting photos of themselves on the beach, on rooftops, drinking beer, listening to music as they explored the country’s scenic coastline.

Then, they disappeared.

Here’s what we know about what happened:

Who were they?

The men who were killed were Australian brothers Callum Robinson, 33, his brother Jake, 30 , and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30.

Callum was a high-level lacrosse player. He played Division III college lacrosse at Stevenson University in Maryland.

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Mexican officials say three bodies are found in the Baja California area where two Australian brothers and their American friend went missing while on a surf trip.

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“He lived an extraordinary life, but what is most impressive about Callum is what a loyal friend he was. Once you were his friend, you were friends for life,” said Stevenson University lacrosse team coach Paul Cantabene.

“My heart is shattered into a million pieces,” wrote Callum Robinson’s girlfriend, Emily Horwath, in an Instagram post.

His brother Jake was a doctor, and Jack Carter Rhoad founded an online apparel company in San Diego called Loma Apparel. He also worked for a consulting company called ITCO Solutions.

Rhoad had recently proposed to his girlfriend, and his final Facebook post, from July 2023, showed pictures of the proposal.

What were they doing in Mexico?

The three men were on a surfing trip in Baja California and were expected to check into an Airbnb in Rosarito on April 27 but never showed up, according to Debra Robinson, Callum and Jake’s mother.

The three arrived in Mexico on April 26 for their idyllic beachside trip. Callum Robinson posted photos of the trio drinking beer on a rooftop, as well as pictures of the men at the beach and in a rooftop Jacuzzi.

3 bodies in Mexican well identified as Australian and American surfers killed for tires

Mexican authorities say three suspects killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip in Baja California to steal tires from their truck.

May 5, 2024

Their disappearance triggered a manhunt and investigation by local Mexican police, the FBI and the Mexican marines.

What happened?

Mexican authorities have determined that the three men were killed by thieves who were looking to steal their white pickup truck in order to sell its tires.

The Chevrolet truck was posted in the first picture Callum Robinson shared when the men arrived in Baja California on April 26. It had a California license plate.

The bodies of the victims were found about 4 miles from where they were killed, just south of the city of Ensenada. A tent the men were staying in, as well as their burned-out truck, was found nearby.

María Elena Andrade Ramírez, chief state prosecutor of the state of Baja California, said investigators discovered their bodies 50 feet deep in a remote well.

Inside the well was a fourth cadaver as well, she said.

Three Mexicans are being held in connection with the case, the prosecutor said.

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What does it mean for tourists?

The killings have set off pitched discussions over safety as well as the prioritization of solving the homicides of other tourists killed in Mexico.

On the Talk Baja Facebook group, concerned surfers and potential visitors to the Northern Mexico state have discussed whether they should still visit the area.

The U.S. State Department said in its 2023 report that Americans should “reconsider” travel to Baja California due to kidnapping and crime. The “reconsider” category is the second-worst category, after the department’s “do not travel to” recommendation.

More to Read

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Three friends drove from California to Mexico for a surfing trip. Then they disappeared

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U.S. couple likely thrown overboard by boat hijackers are dead, Grenada police say

Feb. 27, 2024

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Noah Goldberg covers breaking news for the Los Angeles Times. He worked previously in New York City as the Brooklyn courts reporter for the New York Daily News, covering major criminal trials as well as working on enterprise stories. Before that, he was the criminal justice reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle.

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May 16, 2024

3 bodies found in Mexico identified as 2 Australians, American killed in carjacking on surfing trip

SAN DIEGO — The remains of three people found near the Mexican fishing port of Ensenada are those of missing surfers from Australia and the U.S. who were killed in an apparent carjacking, authorities said Sunday.

Family members made the identifications in person at the behest of Baja California state prosecutors, the state attorney general's office said in a statement Sunday obtained by NBC San Diego . The bodies had been recovered from a remote well about 50 feet deep, authorities said.

The attorney general’s office said the bodies, found in La Bocana, south of Ensenada, are those of Jake and Callum Robinson, of Australia, and Carter Rhoad, of the U.S.

At least two of the three were believed to be living in San Diego, authorities said, according to NBC San Diego.

The Ensenada medical examiner's office said Friday the three victims were killed by gunshot wounds to the head.

At a news conference Sunday, prosecutors said that the motive was carjacking and that the assailants may have been particularly focused on the wheels of the pickup truck used by the missing surfers.

The three were at a makeshift encampment during a fishing and surfing trip south of Ensenada, where the Baja coast rapidly becomes remote and filled with surprises for surfers seeking relatively rare rides.

Prosecutors said they found the trio’s encampment, including tents, spent gun shells, bloodstains and marks indicating bodies had been dragged.

Three people were being questioned in connection with the case, authorities said. Two of the three, a man and a woman, were held on methamphetamine-related allegations, they said, and the third was the subject of a kidnapping warrant.

Chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez said previously there may be evidence, including a victim's cellphone in the possession of one of the three, that might connect the trio to the case.

A fourth body was discovered with the three in the well and may be part of an unrelated case, authorities said.

On Sunday, Andrade Ramírez met with the three men's parents, her office said in its announcement identifying the bodies.

She reassured them, it said, that she was committed to ensuring those responsible face the full weight of the law.

The three men were considered missing on April 27 when they did not return to an Airbnb rental closer to the border, in Rosarito, Debra Robinson, the mother of Jake and Callum Robinson, said on Facebook.

Cartel and big-city street violence attributed to the drug trade in places like Tijuana has been seen as rare in the world of Baja tourism, which requires off-road-capable vehicles and the ability to start a campfire.

The peninsula’s Pacific coast has been a staple destination for U.S. surfers for 60 years, but the U.S. State Department has more recently urged Americans to avoid Baja travel as cartel violence has spread.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. 

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Surfers killed in likely carjacking, says Mexico

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Three tourists found dead in Mexico were shot in the head and their bodies dumped in a well, authorities have confirmed.

Officials believe the men were attacked trying to stop 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 27 April while on a surfing trip in Ensenada.

Relatives of the three men identified their bodies on Sunday after travelling to Mexico to assist authorities, a state prosecutor said.

The attackers wanted the vehicle for its tyres and shot the tourists when they resisted, Baja California state prosecutor Maria Andrade suggested.

Their bodies were found in a 4m (15ft) deep well about 6km (4 miles) from the site of the attack in the town of Santo Tomás on Friday.

Abandoned tents, a burnt white pickup truck and a phone linked to the missing surfers were found nearby.

A fourth body was found in the well, but had been there longer and was unconnected to the case, officials said.

Two men and a woman have been detained on suspicion of direct or indirect involvement in the attack. One man with a previous criminal record has been charged with "forced disappearance".

Earlier, the FBI said it was looking into the case and was in touch with international partners.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, as local drug gangs fight turf wars.

In 2023, it had the country's second highest murder rate, after the state of Guanajuato, according to official figures.

National Defence Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said earlier this year that 85-90% of murders committed in Baja California were linked to drug trafficking and organised crime.

But the Ensenada area, about 120km (75 miles) south of the US-Mexico border and known for its surfing conditions, is considered safer and has long attracted tourists from California.

The brothers' parents - Deborah and Martin Robinson - said Callum had been living in the US, chasing his dream of becoming a professional lacrosse player.

Jake was on "the trip of lifetime" to visit him before starting a new job in Victoria as a doctor, they said on Friday.

“Callum and Jake are beautiful human beings. We love them so much and this breaks our heart.”

Friends of the brothers have also flooded social media with tributes.

Callum's teammates at Stevenson University Lacrosse club said the athlete was a larger-than-life personality.

"With his beautiful long hair and charming smile, he truly embodied the nickname ‘big koala’ - warm, friendly, and always there to lend a helping hand," a statement from the club said.

His girlfriend, Emily Horwath, said her heart was "shattered into a million pieces".

"I don’t have the words right now... I will love you forever," she wrote in a post on Instagram, alongside pictures of the couple.

Carter Rhoad's social media accounts showed happy snaps of him proposing to his partner less than a year ago.

A fundraiser set up by friends of his family said he and the Robinson brothers had "brought immeasurable joy, love, and kindness" to the world.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the country was thinking of the Robinson family.

"It has been an absolutely horrendous, absolutely horrific ordeal and our thoughts are with all of them today,” he said at a news conference on Monday.

The killings have sparked fear and anger in the Ensenada region.

Scores of protesters marched through the city on Sunday, carrying surfboards plastered with slogans written in Spanish.

“They only wanted to surf - we demand safe beaches," one said. "Australia we are with you," another said.

A group of surfers later performed a “paddle-out” ceremony, an ocean vigil to honour the trio.

It is not the first time that Australian surfers have been killed while holidaying in Mexico.

In 2016, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman were murdered in north-western Sinaloa state when they fought back during an attempted robbery.

Their bodies were found in their burnt-out camper van weeks later.

On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Mexico’s foreign ministry said that Mexico’s ambassador to Australia had traveled to Baja California to work with Australian consular officials and help the families of the victims.

State Department figures show that at least 1.6 million US citizens live in Mexico, which is also the top destination for US tourists globally, with more than 30 million visitors in 2022.

In 2022 - the last year for which State Department data is fully available - 192 Americans died in Mexico, of which 46 were ruled as homicides.

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W ith the high-profile murders of three surfers in Mexico grabbing headlines ahead of the busy American summer travel season, a private investigator is warning that killers in the country may not be who you expect.

Cartels are increasingly using women and children to carry out violent acts, Jay Armes III, who specializes in kidnappings in Mexico and works cases all over the world, told Fox News Digital. 

Images and videos of cartel members in tactical gear with intimidating military-grade weapons are meant to instill fear, but "the scariest part" of violence in Mexico "is the bad guys don't look like bad guys," Armes said.

"When you capture these people and line them up, and you look at their faces, they look like your gardener, the waitress who served you dinner at a restaurant, the little old grandmother down the street," he said.

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A man has been charged with "forced disappearance" in connection with the deaths of surfers Carter Rhoad, Callum Robinson and Jake Robinson, the BBC reports. Fox News Digital reached out to the state attorney general of Baja California's office for the latest updates and information.

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Rhoad, a United States citizen who was engaged to be married in August, and the Robinson brothers from Australia were slain during a carjacking, according to the attorney general's office in the Mexican state of Baja California. Their bodies were found at the bottom of 50-foot wells and their truck was torched. The suspects wanted the tires, the prosecutor said.

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It's unclear if the suspects in the surfers' homicides are connected to organized crime, but Armes said the cartels are employing women and children as young as 7 years old as assassins.

Young kids are kidnapped and groomed to be killers, according to Armes, who rattled off names of several infamous Mexican female assassins, like Claudia Ochoa Felix , known as the Kim Kardashian of Mexican cartels. 

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"It's not new, per se, but it's becoming increasingly more common," the private investigator said. "Women and kids are basically prefect hit men because they don't attract attention from anyone's security detail.

"They're not going to look twice at a child or a beautiful woman with the same scrutiny as a man. … A target could be in a restaurant or hotel, and a child or woman can get close enough to easily take out the target and get away."

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Research by the International Crisis Group (ICG) supports Armes' personal knowledge from being on the ground and through his own sources. 

"Male crime bosses tend to value women for their perceived competence, respect for hierarchy and ability to evade police attention," the ICG's November 2023 report says. "Women’s presence in illegal groups has strengthened these organizations. It has also more deeply embedded crime in the fabric of Mexican society and within families."

The ICG interviewed women in Mexican prisons and found that women charged with crimes connected to the cartels increased from 5.4% to 7.5% from 2017 to 2021. 

Armes says the number is still climbing, and as evidenced in the surfers' homicides, women have killed or are involved in murders.

AMERICAN KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO, LEFT TO DIE IN JUNGLE WITH EYES, WRISTS TAPED

As summer vacations and honeymoon season starts, Americans circle the white-sand beaches of Mexican resorts in places like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and others.

The strip of tourist destinations along the coast used to be off-limits to violence, but the rules have changed and warring cartels see tourists as potential customers, or visitors can end up as innocent bystanders killed in the crossfire, Armes said.

It's important to "be hypervigilant" when traveling, he said. 

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Original article source: Killers in Mexico 'can look like anyone' as cartels use women, kids as assassins, PI warns