Transfemicide in Mexico City: "La Soñaré" was murdered and two soldiers are under investigation

A 26-year-old trans woman was murdered early Tuesday morning in Colonia Guerrero.

March 27, 2020

Text and photos: Andrea Jiménez

Naomi Nicole, a 26-year-old trans woman known as “La Soñaré,” was murdered early Tuesday morning in the Colonia Guerrero neighborhood of Mexico City. At 4:00 a.m., gunshots were heard, and witnesses saw two members of the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) fleeing the scene. Upon hearing the shots, her companions called the police. However, ambulance services did not arrive in time. Naomi lay dead in front of number 94 Estrella Street with a gunshot wound to the head.

The alleged murderers, both military personnel, were arrested when their vehicle crashed in the La Palma roundabout, between Paseo de la Reforma and Río Rhin street.

Kenya Cuevas, director of the trans organization Casa de Muñecas Tiresias and a human rights advocate, is following up on the case, as she told Presentes. “I contacted the Prosecutor's Office and took charge of the body,” she told Presentes. So far, the activist has secured a commitment from the Mexico City Attorney General's Office to investigate the murder using a gender-based protocol. In a statement released on Sunday the 29th, the Prosecutor's Office announced:

"After a judge formally charged two men for their probable responsibility in the death of a transgender person and set three months for further investigation, the Attorney General's Office of Mexico City (FGJCDMX) will seek during that period to have the transfemicide reclassified."

During the aforementioned investigation stage, evidence will be collected by activating the femicide protocol to request, in accordance with the provisions of article 141 of the National Code of Criminal Procedure, the reclassification as homicide due to gender orientation.

Furthermore, support will be sought from expert organizations in the field, and recommendation 02/2019, issued by the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, will be used as a guideline for action.

The farewell

On Wednesday, Naomi was laid to rest by candlelight amidst flowers at the García Funeral Home in the Algarín neighborhood. The impromptu funeral, attended by about ten people, began at 11 p.m. and lasted until this morning.

Abandonment and migrations

“My poor son, I’m devastated. I would have loved to tell him one last time that I always loved him,” Naomi’s mother, who hasn’t slept since receiving the news, tells Presentes.

Naomi was 26 years old and a sex worker. She left home at 18 to look for her father. “Her father abandoned the family and never cared about his children. He was one of those types. We're from a ranch; things are different in the city. Here in the countryside, it's not the same. He couldn't be who he wanted to be. We used to talk on the phone occasionally. He told me he was okay and not to worry. He was always a good person, hardworking, and he helped us on the farm. A very cheerful guy,” the victim's mother added.

After her father's indifference, Naomi decided to make a life for herself in Mexico City.

On Wednesday, Naomi's body, accompanied by several volunteers from the Tiresias Dollhouse, including its director, left for the municipality of Las Choapas, in Veracruz, where the victim was from, and where her family buried her that night. “If it hadn't been for Kenya, I wouldn't have known, and my son's body would have been left lying there in the street. Now I just want justice,” the mother added.

Cuevas is more determined and hopeful than ever to fight for justice for her colleague. “From Casa de las Muñecas, we will continue working to ensure that this hate crime does not go unpunished, just like every other transfemicide perpetrated in Mexico,” she told Presentes.

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