Four charged over murder of Aussie brothers in Mexico due to face court as two have alleged links to Sinaloa Cartel

Four people charged over the murder of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their US friend are facing court in Mexico — with at least two accused of links to a notorious drug cartel.

At least two of the people charged with the homicide of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad are allegedly linked to a violent Mexican cartel designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the Trump Administration.

The four accused briefly faced court for a pre-trial hearing in Ensenada, Mexico on Friday Australian time.

Mexican prosecutors have repeatedly insisted the killings were not connected to the violent cartels in the area and that the trio were murdered in a “robbery gone wrong”.

Martin and Debra Robinson with their sons, Callum and Jake. The Perth brothers were surfing in Mexico with their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad when they were killed.

But according to court documents obtained by the ABC, at least two of the accused were transferred to high security prisons last year to await trial because of their alleged links to the Sinaola Cartel.

The violent group has been officially designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the Trump Administration.

The case was mentioned briefly in court on Friday but was rescheduled to next week because two defendants did not have legal representation.

Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota charged over the disappearance of Australian surfers Callum and Jake Robinson and American Jack Carter Rhoad in Mexico.

Perth brothers Jake, 31, Callum 32, and their American friend Jake, 30, were killed in April last year during a roadtrip in the state of Baja California.

Days after the trio went missing, their burnt out truck was located and their bodies discovered in a well about an hour south of the border with the United States.

Prosecutors alleged the killers had been attempting to steal the wheels from the vehicle the trio had been travelling in during a surfing road trip.

Jake was a doctor who was due to take up a cardiology posting after the trip, Callum had lived in the US for more than a decade and was Australia’s first and only professional lacrosse player, and Jack was just months away from getting married.

Months ago, on the one year anniversary of their passing, the brothers’ parents Martin and Debra Robinson spoke of their grief at the loss of their beloved sons.

Martin and Debra Robinson reflect on the death of their sons, Callum and Jake.

The family started the Callum and Jake Robinson Foundation in honour of the brothers, a not-for-profit group charity aimed at bringing positive changes in the lives of others.

“Thank you for standing with us and for your unwavering love and support,” the foundation wrote on Instagram after Friday’s court hearing.

Three wooden statues have been erected overlooking the waves at a surf site near where the trio died in Baja.

“Their passion for surfing and their love of the ocean will forever be remembered,” the memorial states.

“Live bigger, shine brighter and love harder.”

Originally published as Four charged over murder of Aussie brothers in Mexico due to face court as two have alleged links to Sinaloa Cartel