The Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico is preparing to file charges for the crime of homicide against Jesús Gerardo alias “El Kekas”alleged responsible for the murder of two Australian surfers and one American surfer missing south of Ensenada (Baja California, Mexico) on April 27. The three tourists were found murdered inside a well with several shots to the head. The murder has caused consternation in Australia, where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mourned the “tragic incident”.
Apparently, the prosecution initially said that the motive for the murder was due to a attempted vehicle theft in which they traveled to keep the tires. However, it is not ruled out that behind the crime there may be the participation of the organized crime and drug trafficking gangs, very active in Baja California. The murder of the surfers has unleashed a wave of solidarity with the families and the Australian government has regretted “the horrific crime.”
“The Kekas” -also know as “The Fkaco“- was arrested in possession of methamphetamine last Thursday, May 2, near La Bocana de Santo Tomás, where the Australian brothers, Jake and Callum Robinson, were last seen with their American friend Jack Carter.
At the time of his arrest, the suspect was surprised with two people who were transporting drugs. The people arrested along with the criminal were a woman identified as Ari Gisell Silva Raya, who was found with the mobile phone of one of the surfers. The third man arrested would be brother of Jesús Gerardo, Cristian Alejandro.
At the moment, the Mexican press has not revealed whether the defendants belong to a criminal or criminal group. Born in 1987 in Ensenada and settled in Uruapan, “El Kekas” has a criminal record for crimes of extortion and robbery. The detainee is in preventive detention in Ensenada, where this Wednesday he has a hearing scheduled in which he could be accused of the crime of homicide along with accusations of disappearance of people.
The mother of the two Australian surfers killed in Mexico paid an emotional tribute to her children Tuesday on a San Diego beach. “Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us.”Debra Robinson declared, fighting back tears. “They were young people who enjoyed their passion for surfing together.”
Prosecutor Andrade Ramírez did not rule out that there are “several” more people involved in the murder of the three surfers. This Sunday the surfer community of Baja California held a march in Ensenada to demand security on the beaches of the state's coast.
Narcos behind the crime?
The official version of the robbery that ended with the death of the tourists has been questioned by many within the town of Ensenada because they believe that behind it there may be a settling of accounts between drug gangs. This municipality has a strategic importance of the first order since it is located in the heart of the drug trafficking routes. The port is located just one hundred kilometers away, through which tons of drugs enter from the south bound for the United States. Ensenada is also located 82 kilometers from Tijuana international airport, another drug hot spot. The area is a highly attractive tourist destination for American citizens and has a large expatriate community.
Violence in the area increased five years ago, with the arrival of members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel wanting to dispute territorial control with the Sinaloa Cartel and some cells of the Tijuana Cartel. The town is at the epicenter of a territorial war between gangs for “the plazas”, the drug trafficking routes and trafficking of people to the north and legal weapons to the south.
When did they disappear
April 27, 2024 was the last day that family members knew of the whereabouts of American Jack Carter Rhoad and brothers Jack and Callum Robinson, who crossed the border from the United States to Mexico to practice surfing. On May 1, their bodies were located on a cliff in the town of Santo Tomás.