"Doesn't add up": New theory emerges in Perth brothers' deaths
A private security worker in Mexico has cast doubt on the police narrative on how two brothers from Perth were found dead.
According to Mexico police, Callum and Jake Robinson were caught up in a robbery gone wrong while they were on a surfing holiday in Baja California with an American friend.
“They approached, with the intention of stealing their vehicle and taking the tyres and other parts to put them on the older-model pick-up they were driving,” Baja California Attorney-General Maria Elena Andrade Ramírez said.
“When they (the victims) came up and caught them, surely, they resisted."
“And these people, the assailants, took out a gun and first they killed the one who was putting up resistance against the vehicle theft, and then others came along and joined the fight to defend their property and their companion who had been attacked, and they killed them too.”
However, those with intimate knowledge of the turbulent area have offered another theory about how the Robinson brothers were killed, suggesting a much more sinister alternative.
A source who does private security work in Mexico told the New York Post that the police narrative "doesn't add up", and it is far more likely that the trio were killed by cartel members who were in search of a rival gang.
“Basically, the reasoning of them being carjack victims gone wrong makes very little sense,” the source said.
The source described the situation as “deeply disturbing”, while also sharing how Baja California is in the midst of a drug war.
“These surfers were well travelled and would most likely know better than to try to fend off a truck jacking. My guess is they were mistakenly identified as a rival criminal organisation and murdered."
“That being exposed would create an ongoing investigation that no cartel wants to deal with and would create a devastating impact on tourism in the area, which is popular with surfers and visitors from the US," the source explained.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the deaths of the three men, although no charges have yet been laid.
Travel website SmartTraveller notes Mexico as a dangerous destination, warning tourists of Baja California in particular, as one of multiple areas most affected by drug-related and gang violence.
“Mexico has a high risk of violent crime, including murder, armed robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping. Don’t travel at night outside major cities. Drug-related violence is widespread,” Smartraveller warns.
“Kidnapping and extortion are serious risks. Don’t draw attention to your money or business affairs. Only use ATMs in public spaces and during the daytime. Stop at all roadblocks, or you risk getting killed.”
According to the New York Post, Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states because of organised crime gangs, and their relationships with corrupt police officers.
Heritage Foundation Latin America expert Andres Martinez-Fernandez said corruption could easily be at play with the Perth brothers and the true nature of their deaths.
“The case is highly unusual, as presented by Mexican police, who say the supposed robbery was done by small-time criminals who ended up destroying the vehicle they were allegedly trying to steal,” he told the Post.
“Given the deep and widespread corruption in the Mexican police, it hard to dismiss the possibility of a cover-up, potentially to shift blame away from a powerful drug cartel. This would certainly align with the Mexican government’s efforts to downplay the severity of cartel violence in Mexico,” he added.
Just days after they went missing, the bodies of Callum and Jake Robinson, along with Jack Carter Rhoad, were found down a well with fatal gunshot wounds to the head.
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