violence does not spare tourists

Three surfers were shot in the head at the end of April in Mexico, in Baja California on the border with the United States, and their bodies were found at the bottom of a well. The three men, two Australian brothers and their American friend, surfing fanatics, arrived in Mexico on April 26 in search of good waves. The next day, they suddenly stopped posting their travel photos on social networks, causing concern among those close to them.

Their bodies were found on May 5 in an isolated place on the Pacific coast, a few kilometers from their camp. Authorities arrested three people suspected of the crime: they allegedly tried to steal the foreigners’ vehicle, who resisted the attack and were shot dead. The crime sparked horrified reactions from their loved ones and Australian authorities.

Tourist safety in question

Baja California is a region extremely frequented by American tourists, who easily cross the border to party in Tijuana or to go surfing on the beaches of the peninsula. But it has also been one of the most dangerous regions of Mexico in recent years: it is through here that strategic routes for drug trafficking to the United States pass. The murder of the three surfers serves as a reminder that foreign tourists are not immune to the chronic violence that affects Mexican society. In 2015, two Australian surfers were already brutally murdered in Mexico.

Mexican authorities are keen to preserve tourism in the region and describe the incidents as isolated. But what actually constitutes an exception is the way in which the investigation was conducted. The bodies of the surfers were found at the bottom of a well fifteen meters deep in an area difficult to access… However, there are more than 100,000 missing in Mexico and investigations generally lead to no results . Some people today wonder why we do not investigate with the same urgency when the victims are Mexican.