Share

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Tweet Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

VERACRUZ, Mexico. Junior Nieto was a makeup artist who frequently protested against homophobia and hatred toward the LGBT community through his work. It is now suspected that this very hatred is what took his life, as he was murdered on January 13.

Members of the LGBTI community in Veracruz and their families have requested that his murder be investigated as a possible hate crime. Authorities have not yet indicated whether this line of investigation is being pursued.

On January 11, his sister shared a missing person post, which was quickly joined by friends and other family members. Junior was well-loved for his activism, his work as a physical trainer, and his dedication to service.

Two days later, the remains of Jordy Dávalos Nieto (his full name) were found dismembered in a box on the Fortín-Ixtaczoquitlán highway. Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez confirmed the discovery.

A family member, who asked to remain anonymous, indicated that they still have no information about the investigation and therefore do not know if a possible hate crime is being investigated, but asked that it not be ruled out since it is necessary to explore everything to find the guilty parties.

"The police must investigate thoroughly."

“He spoke of light, of peace, of tranquility, of love, his life was public (…) the police must investigate every lead they find, I can’t say that he said anyone hated him, I can’t say that because wherever he went people loved him, people showed it to him, but the police should thoroughly investigate what happened, but that possibility shouldn’t be ruled out,” he said.

Activist Jazz Bustamante pointed out that it is necessary to investigate a possible hate crime because there are three possible causes: Junior openly expressed his sexual orientation, he was deprived of his freedom, and there was cruelty in his murder when he was tortured and dismembered.

This request is supported by other organizations such as the Orizaba Equality Collective, where director Carolina Vázquez Dector stated that the authorities must conduct the investigation since this crime could put the entire LGBT population at risk.

Veracruz: the state with the most hate crimes in Mexico

“If it really was a hate crime, this has to be stopped now, because otherwise it will be easy for one person to do it after another, because there is a killer on the loose, a homophobe who is putting the entire community in the area at risk. That is why we have to raise this alert and demand that the person responsible pay as the law dictates,” he said.

However, he indicated that on many occasions the State Attorney General's Office does not apply the aggravating circumstances that exist in the Veracruz Penal Code to investigate a possible hate crime based on sexual orientation or gender identity, which has been further complicated by the pandemic because the working groups that were beginning to be held at the central offices were canceled.

The Social Communication Department of the State Attorney General's Office was consulted on the matter but no response was obtained.

The state of Veracruz leads the figures for hate crimes, since from January 2021 to January 2022 alone, 26 had been registered (to which Junior Nieto must be added), according to the report Impunity 2013-2021, hate crimes chapter Veracruz, carried out by activists.