Witnesses in the Mexican trial of three men accused of murdering Australian surfers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad have reportedly been placed into a witness protection programme after alleged intimidation linked to the defendants. On the trial's opening day in Ensenada, the judge ordered the accused out of the courtroom after prosecutors said two witnesses – a woman who previously dated defendant Jesús Gerardo, known as "El Kekas", and her son – had allegedly been threatened, prompting authorities to withhold their identities.

The Robinson brothers, aged 30 and 33, and Rhoad, 30, were shot dead in April 2024 while on a camping and surfing trip along Mexico's Pacific coast, with their bodies later found in a clifftop shaft. The son testified that he had seen two of the accused near the scene on the night of the killings and heard a gunshot and fighting before fleeing, and said El Kekas later warned him to stay silent; his mother also gave emotional testimony. Prosecutors allege the men were killed during a botched robbery targeting their pick-up truck, an account the defence disputes, while a woman previously convicted over the crime was jailed for 20 years last year after admitting she incited the robbery for the vehicle's tyres.