Wells, cartels and memorials: The buried war in Baja California brought to light by the Robinson brothers

Baja California in Mexico’s northwest was thrust into the spotlight after the deaths of Perth brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, with local protests over a history of violence and disappearance challenging its glossy surf tourist image. When the deaths of the two Perth vacationers and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad were confirmed by local police, a 500-strong protest formed at the coastal city of Ensenada. To locals, the swift results from an investigation into the three deaths were a departure from the norm, contributing to a perception that foreigners jump the queue when compared to scrutiny into the deaths of Mexican nationals. Jake and Callum had been in Mexico for less than a day-and-a-half before their alleged execution. They saw the popular Rosarito surf spot KM 38, went sightseeing in Ensenada, enjoyed a beer at a sauna, and then were dead at a rural campsite. Their deaths were not unique. When police located their bodies at the bottom of a well, they happened upon a fourth body stuffed below them. It’s believed the corpse had been there undiscovered for two weeks, and it still has not been identified by authorities. This unknown victim is more than likely to be one of the estimated 2700 people in Baja California who remain missing, according to the Interior Ministry’s registry. “Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us,” mother Debra Robinson said to reporters on Tuesday after she had returned overnight from identifying the bodies of her sons. “My heart is shattered into a million pieces,” Callum’s girlfriend Emily Howarth said on Instagram. “The world can be a dark place, but you made it brighter, and now it’s dark again.” The case of Jake and Callum Robinson also bears an uncanny resemblance to the 2015 murder of Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, who died one state over. Mr Lucas and Mr Coleman had rented a van in Canada, driving it down to Mexico. They were reported missing when they failed to arrive in Guadalajara. Sinaloa police eventually located a burnt-out van with two corpses inside. The bodies sported such severe burns that they could only be confirmed as Mr Lucas and Mr Coleman through DNA testing. The pair had travelled from Golden Bay, Western Australia for a surf trip. Sinaloa and Baja California, located across The Gulf of California from one another, are popular tourist spots and thoroughfares for those making their way further south. While official advice from the Australian government lists travel in the area as safe, with a few provisos, the region is commonly staggered by random violence and organised crime. Government data places the missing persons count in Baja California, but an estimate by human rights group Elementa DDHH puts the count of active disappearance investigations in the region closer to 17,300. Nationally, the missing persons count was estimated at 100,000 by the government in March. While it has not provided its own figure, the UN has said that was likely an underestimation. Since 2006, when former president Felipe Calderon declared a war on drugs, 450,000 deaths have been attributed to violent crime. From Japan to Mexico to Kenya, the Yakuza, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Mungiki are among the most dangerous and notorious gangs in the world. At Chapultepec Park in Mexico City you can find the Memorial to Victims of Violence. Its 70 steel walls are scattered at angles from one another. The plates, 2.5m wide and 12m high, each feature quotations from famous orators. Cicero speaks beside Carlos Fuentes and Martin Luther King Jr, their words lit up by LEDs. Most of the remarks speak on violence, death and memory. It seeks to translate loss into a physical, sprawling space. In 2022 the memorial entered government neglect following budget cuts. It has since been defaced. The lighting no longer works. Baja California authorities have not linked the deaths of Jake and Callum to gang violence, but even the judge presiding over a case related to the disappearance said cartel involvement should be considered. Jesus Gerardo faces charges related to the forced kidnapping of Mr Rhoad, Jake and Callum. It is expected the charge will be upgraded to murder as the trial progresses. On Wednesday, local time, the question was raised over how one man could transport and dump the bodies of three large men on his own. The execution-style deaths of the group, and the presence of another body at the dumping site of their corpses, also raised suspicions of the involvement of more seasoned, gang-affiliated accomplices. The cartel presence in Baja California is a strong allegory for the country; it’s perpetually shifting and near constant. It’s the birthplace of the Tijuana Cartel, named for the border city it operated from until it was ousted by the Sinaloa Cartel in 2006. The Sinaloa Cartel requires very little introduction in the Americas. Estimated to work on a scale matching that of an S&P 500 business, it has contributed dinner table names like El Chapo to the cultural conversation. In the past decade, the Tijuana Cartel has aligned with other cartels caught under the thumb of the Sinaloa Cartel to create an aligned opposition. In the meantime, ordinary Baja Californians have paid for the violence. That violence is unlikely to diminish without reform as long as the trade routes into the US remain lucrative for north Mexican states. In 2021, social advocate Justice in Mexico estimated that one in 10 murders nationally happened in Baja California. Disentangling arguments against cartel violence from criticism of police conduct is a losing battle in Mexican activism. The 2023 Matamoros kidnappings of four Americans shows the shared interest local police and cartels have in quickly resolving high-profile cases. On March 3 of that year, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, Eric Williams, and Latavia McGee had their car intercepted in Matamoros; they were kidnapped. By March 7, Mr Brown and Mr Woodward were dead, while Mr Williams and Ms McGee were freed. On March 9, residents of Matamoros woke up to find five men tied up at the site of the original abduction. A note was left with the prisoners; it apologised to the families of the victims and alleged that the five men tied up were the perpetrators. By March 10 they were charged with aggravated kidnapping and homicide. For Mexican authorities navigating a system compromised by organised crime, it can often be useful to know more than you act on. For example, it may pay well and keep you in better health if you avoid checking sites where cartel members regularly hide bodies until you need to find the bodies of three hypothetical foreign nationals. On Thursday a Sinaloa cartel member almost made it clear it was naive to discount cartel involvement, alleging that they’d rounded up suspects for the police. “(The three charged) were low-level robbers acting alone,” the anonymous member told US outlet The Daily Beast. “But we handed them over. “We learned that the cops were looking for the gringos and also began looking for those who were responsible. We called the authorities to let them know where to find them.” The anonymous speaker made it clear this was not done out of charity, the cited motive was avoiding “unwanted attention”. As reported by Spanish periodical El Pais, Sunday’s protest was fronted by surfers. They shared a common link with the dead tourists and tagged their boards to make placards. “Estamos contigo” one read, meaning “we are with you”. “Mas Seguridad” or “more security” was plastered on another. Much of their anger is directed at the state’s Attorney-General María Elena Andrade Ramírez and her handling of the investigation; however, violence in the area is institutional, entrenched, indiscriminate and recursive. It’s likely these locals are hoping the speedy justice granted to tourists can bring home more of their disappeared. For now though, there’s just an anonymous, neglected corpse discovered in a well by happenstance.