TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras. Jonathan Gabriel Martínez (31), César Gustavo Zúñiga, and Fer Martínez (18) were murdered on the same night, Wednesday, February 2, in northern and central Honduras. All three were LGBTQ+ individuals.

Jonathan Martínez and César Zúñiga were a couple who lived in the La Sabana neighborhood of San Pedro Sula, Cortés department, in northern Honduras . Meanwhile, Fer Martínez was murdered in La Libertad, Comayagua , in the central part of the country.

On Thursday, January 27, President Xiomara Castro promised in her inaugural address that the “LGBTI+ community” would have “a place and precise attention” in her government.

The deaths

With the three deaths on Wednesday, the number of LGBT+ people murdered since 2009 has reached 405 , according to the Violent Deaths Observatory of the Cattrachas Lesbian Network , based in Tegucigalpa, in central Honduras.

The first homicide victim of 2022 in Honduras was transgender leader Thalía Rodríguez, who was murdered in Tegucigalpa , Francisco Morazán . Later, a lesbian woman was violently killed in Choloma, in the north of the country .

These crimes are in addition to the three violent deaths on Thursday: the two homosexual victims in San Pedro Sula and the young woman murdered in La Libertad, Comayagua.

In total, at least 5 LGBTI+ people have been murdered so far in 2022.. 

They were dressed as police officers

According to residents of the La Sabana neighborhood , men dressed as police officers shot and killed Jonathan Martínez and his partner, César Gustavo Zúñiga, in a liquor store owned by Martínez.

German Nufio Hernandez, who is presumed to have been a customer of the bar, died in the same incident.

Presentes requested an official statement from the Honduran investigative authorities, and to date they have not yet offered a report on the crimes.

Fer murdered: organizations demand justice

On the same night that the three men were killed in San Pedro Sula, Fer Martínez died from several gunshot wounds in the Bella Vista neighborhood of the municipality of La Libertad, Comayagua, in central Honduras.

Karla Martínez announced on social media the violent death of Fer, who in 2018 joined a migrant caravan heading to the United States. She was only able to reach Mexico before being deported in 2019 because she was a minor.

One of the largest migrant caravans in Honduran history occurred in January 2021, when nearly 10,000 Hondurans migrated to the United States . Among those thousands of migrants were at least 300 LGBTQ+ individuals from all corners of Honduras.

“Justice and mercy for Fer, so that there are no more unnecessary deaths like this. She was a very young person. The system always targets minors, and that is regrettable,” said Irving Mondragón, director of the humanitarian organization Casa de Luz in Tijuana , who knew Fernanda well when she passed through Mexico on her way to the United States.

Meanwhile, from Mexico City, the migrant aid organization Casa Frida posted on Twitter: “From Mexico, Honduras and the region we face what is perhaps the biggest crisis of violence and hate crimes based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in 2022, which exposes the harsh reality of the lack of political will.”

From Mexico, Honduras, and the region, we face what is perhaps the greatest crisis of violence and hate crimes based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in 2022, a year that exposes the harsh reality of a lack of political will. @ReportarsinMied https://t.co/lcTMWQnB3K

— Casa Frida, LGBTIQ Refuge 🏳️‍🌈🇲🇽 (@CasaFridaLGBT) February 4, 2022

“I am strong, but I don’t have the courage to look at you.”

“I thought you were the one who was going to see me like this,” Karla Martínez wrote on her social media about Fer, “but it was my little one who had to see me. It hurts so much. I’m strong, or so I think, but I haven’t had the courage to see you. I’m glad to know that there were many people who loved you and have shown me that. All I can do is thank each and every one of you. God bless you today, tomorrow, and always.”

Karla continued her emotional message, speaking about her daughter's adventure when she tried to emigrate. "You were quite the adventurer. We'll be together very soon. María Fernanda Martínez, I will always love you."

Karla confessed that she feels no “hatred or resentment” for Fer's murder. She also wished blessings upon those who killed her. “She was just a girl… 12 shots, and then they finished her off by throwing a rock at her head.”

Fer was about to turn 19 in March, her mother added in the post: “Fly high, my little one.” 

They condemn crimes

Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR ) condemned the violent deaths of the three LGBTI people killed on Wednesday night.

“We express our solidarity with the families of the victims,” the institution wrote. “The Office expresses its concern regarding the attacks, threats, and harassment faced by LGBTI people in the country. The Honduran State must guarantee truth, justice, and reparations for these crimes and ensure that such acts are not repeated.”

1/3 #OHCHR condemns the violent deaths of three LGBTI people: two gay men in San Pedro Sula on February 2 and a young woman in La Libertad, Comayagua on February 3. We express our solidarity with the victims' families. pic.twitter.com/s15v6vK69x

— OACNUDH Honduras (@OACNUDHHN) February 3, 2022

According to Osman Lara, a Honduran lawyer and psychologist specializing in migration, crimes like those committed against Fer, Jonathan, and César cause even more waves of forced displacement of diverse people from the country.

“Currently, three to five LGBTIQ+ people travel daily from San Pedro Sula to the United States, and with the increase in hate crimes, many question whether coming out of the closet is really safe in a country like Honduras,” she says.

Honduras and hate crimes

Honduras is one of the worst countries in Latin America to be a person of diverse sexual orientation.

Since September 2021, the violence has intensified after former President Juan Orlando Hernández, together with leaders of religious fundamentalism and politicians, used messages to promote LGBTIQ+-hate in the context of the past general elections.

“For Juan Orlando, diverse people are enemies of the nation and he doesn’t want us,” Lara points out. Since then, aggressions, crimes, and attacks in various media outlets have become more frequent, according to complaints from more than 30 organizations.

In contrast to the discourse of the 12-year nationalist government, the new president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, promised in her inauguration that LGBTI+ people would have “a place and precise attention” within her government.

The new center-left government, led by the country's first female president, will have to investigate these first three deaths.

Furthermore, it must comply with the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that condemned Honduras for the murder of Vicky Hernández and others in the context of the 2009 coup d'état.

The Honduran State has to make a series of reparations and recognitions for trans and LGBT+ people in the country.