Another hate crime in El Salvador: four trans femicides in 40 days

Rosa Granados, a 28-year-old trans activist, was murdered in San Salvador. This marks the fourth hate crime against trans people in less than 40 days.

December 3, 2019

By Paula Rosales, from San Salvador

The murder of Rosa Granados, a 28-year-old trans activist, has once again raised alarms in El Salvador. In just one month and three days, four murders of transgender people have been reported.

According to police sources, Rosa was murdered in her home, shot four times in the head. She lived in the Loma Larga canton, in the department of La Unión, 182 kilometers east of San Salvador.

Rosa was a member of the organization Estrellas del Golfo and did community work promoting the rights of LGBTI people in the eastern part of the country. She also sold beauty products through catalogs in the surrounding villages of Loma Larga. According to sources consulted by Presentes, one hypothesis is that she was extorted by gangs who demanded she hand over the money from her sales.

Some time ago, Rosa tried to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office. But she eventually gave up because of how cumbersome the investigation process can be in El Salvador.

Due to the threats she received, a few days before she was murdered she was considering migrating overland to the United States. It was the plan she and a friend had made, but they were unable to carry it out.

Ever Daniel Pacheco, director of the organization Estrellas del Golfo, lamented that Rosa was unable to flee the country: “We are surprised and concerned. Today it was Rosa, and tomorrow it could be someone else. Half an hour ago, I received a call from another colleague who lives near Rosa's house and who is also being threatened,” Ever told Presentes.

Four trans femicides in 40 days

Anahy Miranda Rivas, 27, was murdered in the early hours of Sunday, October 27, on a busy avenue in San Salvador. On November 9, Jade Camila Díaz , a trans activist, was found dead in the department of Morazán, in northeastern El Salvador. On Saturday, November 16, Victoria Pineda was brutally murdered on a street in the Cara Sucia canton, in the department of Ahuachapán.

Days later, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed its "repudiation and deep dismay" at the murder. "Jade, along with the organization COMCAVIS Trans, tirelessly defended the rights of LGBTI people and recently participated in consultations for the development of El Salvador's national chapter of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS)," the agency reported.

The UNHCR called attention to “conducting the necessary investigations and preventing alleged hate crimes from going unpunished. This is in accordance with the commitments presented by the Salvadoran government during the recent MIRPS meeting in Mexico, and in line with the commitments made in the Mexico City Declaration,” adopted days earlier.

Hate crimes remain unpunished

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has so far remained silent regarding these crimes against the LGBTI population. Bukele, who took office on June 1, eliminated five government ministries just hours after beginning his term, including the Ministry of Social Inclusion, which served vulnerable and LGBTI populations.

Within the Secretariat of Social Inclusion, the first Directorate of Sexual Diversity was established to promote the eradication of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the public administration. Bukele's decision to transfer this directorate to the Ministry of Culture generated widespread rejection from the LGBTI community.

In 2018, the country recorded a homicide rate of 50.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the world. November 2019 ended with 131 murders nationwide.

“We condemn this crime and call on the relevant institutions to ensure that it does not go unpunished,” Ever said.

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