MEXICO CITY, Mexico . On the night of Wednesday, April 6, Mexico City police officers chased, beat, and extorted Diego and Amaro, who identify as LGBT+. This occurred after the officers saw them kissing on a street in Roma Sur, one of the most popular tourist neighborhoods in the Mexican capital. Diego and Amaro have filed complaints with human rights organizations and have indicated they will also file reports with the Prosecutor's Office for Crimes Committed by Public Officials and the Specialized Agency for Attention to Members of the LGBTI+ Community, both part of the local Prosecutor's Office.

“The first thing I felt was fear. It crossed my mind that we could be the next to disappear, right? …Suddenly, in my imagination, I think that maybe I’m safer in this city because of the rights we’ve won. Because we’re more visible, because we occupy the streets, but for this to happen to us in a super gentrified neighborhood, with white people who get more attention, well, you think you’re also safe. And you’re not,” said Amaro, who prefers to be addressed with the pronoun “elle.” 

The police not only beat them but also robbed them. The young men ended up with scrapes and bruises all over their bodies. Amaro suffered a rib injury, and the medical examiner diagnosed him with a “severe contusion and swelling.” Diego had a chunk of hair ripped out, leaving a gaping hole in his scalp.

In Mexico, 3 out of 10 LGBTI+ people have been victims of physical assaults because of their identity, with police officers being the perpetrators in 9.18% of these cases . Furthermore, 13% of LGBTI+ people report having been detained at some point because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the Research on the Care of LGBT People in Mexico by the Executive Commission for Victim Assistance and the Arcoiris Foundation.

“We see that these types of extortion crimes and acts of discrimination are more prevalent outside of Mexico City. This isn't to say they don't happen elsewhere, but we have a higher incidence of these types of attacks in Veracruz, Michoacán, and Tamaulipas due to the climate of widespread violence in the country . However, we remain on constant alert because we don't know where these hate crimes might occur, a consequence also of the authorities' lack of attention to providing ongoing training for the police ,” explained Gloria Careaga, general coordinator of the Arcoíris Foundation .

“They followed us just for kissing and they beat us up.”

Amaro told Presentes about the attack he experienced and explained that the complaints they filed took into account their membership in the LGBT community. It has been officially recorded that they "experienced a discriminatory act."

It all started around 9:30 at night. Amaro and Diego met on a busy, well-lit street in the Roma Sur neighborhood. They kissed and casually noticed a police patrol car nearby. “We realized they were watching us, we felt uncomfortable, and we walked away.” 

Diego and Amaro reached a less busy street, kissed again, and the patrol car followed them, even turning on its lights. “We thought it was part of their routine patrol, but we noticed they were very persistent. They kept stopping where we were. So we decided to walk against the flow of traffic so we wouldn't run into them again.”

Diego and Amaro arrived at a park with no lighting. “We kept kissing. Suddenly we saw someone approaching, taking out a flashlight, and shining it on us. (That person) yelled, ' You're screwed .' Instinctively, we moved away from each other, but another policeman came with that one and said, 'If you run, it'll be worse for you .'” Diego and Amaro ran instinctively.

Amaro says that because it's the police, there's no "vote of trust." While running through the unlit park, they fell and were beaten by the police. 

“A police officer grabbed Diego while he was on the ground. He dragged him by the hair, punched him in the face, and kicked him. The other police officer put me in a hold, threw me down again, and put one of his feet on my body. The other police officer came back at me and kicked me in the ribs.” 

When they had them on the ground, Amaro remembers that one of the police officers told them: “ Why did you run? If you ran, another (police officer) would have shot you .”

“I was scared, I thought they would make us disappear.”

After the beatings, the victims reported that the police tried to plant marijuana and a knife on them. In Mexico, the police often plant objects during arbitrary arrests to fabricate evidence of a crime. They almost always do so with weapons or psychoactive substances. 

At that moment, Amaro tells Presentes that he felt afraid. “The truth is, deep down, I thought they were going to make us disappear,” he recalls.

Arbitrary arrests are very common in Mexico and “used illegally by the authorities, primarily against those who face historical discrimination,” according to Amnesty International’s report, False Suspicions: Arbitrary Detentions by the Police in Mexico . The report adds that these practices “are very often the starting point for serious and persistent human rights violations in the country, such as torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.”

According to the latest National Survey on Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ( ENDOSIG, 2018 ), 30.8% of the surveyed population has experienced arbitrary and discriminatory treatment by the police. The most common instance of this is being questioned by the police without apparent reason.

According to the survey, trans women, gay men, and lesbian women, in that order, are the populations that have the most "negative experiences" with the police. 

Kissing is not a crime

Amaro recalls that during the beating, the police officers did not use homophobic slurs. But one of them did give them a “lecture.” 

“He told us he had a nephew 'like us' but that he didn't do that, that there were hotels for that.” He added, “It was strange. At one point he took out rubbing alcohol and started treating our wounds. And they told us that what we were doing warranted a fine of at least two thousand pesos.”

In Mexico, kissing is not a crime. The Council to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination in Mexico City (Copred) confirmed to Diego and Amaro that there are no fines for two people of the same sex kissing in public.

The attack lasted an hour and a half. “In the end, they took our money and four pairs of glasses I had with me, worth more than 10,000 pesos. They yelled at us, ' Run or something worse will happen to you .'”

Complaints of discrimination against LGBT+ people

In the complaints made so far, they have specified that they identify as part of the LGBTI+ population and that it was a discriminatory act.  

By the time Presentes contacted Amaro, they had already filed a complaint with the Copred (Council to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination) and an administrative complaint with the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC). An internal affairs investigation was opened. The police institution will determine which patrol cars and officers were in the area at the time of the attack.

“The park was so dark and they were wearing face masks that we could barely see their eyes. It was difficult to look them directly in the eyes because they took anything we did the wrong way, so we practically kept our heads down.” 

For Amaro, the complaint process was “tiring, tedious, and bureaucratic.” She also commented that she had to “recount, remember, and relive everything again” in front of many people. 

According to a report by the National Human Rights Commission ( CNDH, 2019 ), the most violated right for LGBT populations in Mexico is the right to legal security, mainly related to "illegal acts of agents in charge of public security."

Likewise, the National Diagnosis on Discrimination against LGBTI People in Mexico, in its section on the right to security and access to justice, highlights that there is “a profound distrust in institutions stemming from the inefficient actions and interventions of those who operate them. When people go to these institutions, they report that no action is taken or they are pressured not to report the crime. State officials do not adequately perform their duties and do not receive any type of sanction for this, leaving victims more vulnerable due to the impunity surrounding the attacks and violations of their rights.”

However, that report does not reveal information about how many security officials have violated these human rights, nor what the consequences have been.

In the following weeks, Diego and Amaro will file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) . They will also file a criminal complaint for discrimination with the Prosecutor's Office for Crimes Committed by Public Servants and another with the Specialized Agency for Attention to Members of the LGBTI+ Community.

“I don’t want to live in fear or be a statistic”

“We want to file a complaint everywhere to see if anything can be done. At least have it on record, so it doesn't happen again, or so someone else knows what to do.” Amaro says they are lucky. “We have support networks, we knew what to do, where to go. For me, it's important that after this we're clear on what we can do when the same thing happens to two people of color from the outskirts of the city who kiss in Roma. If reporting it, even though it's overwhelming, can help prevent others from experiencing it, or if it works to stop it from happening again, then we have to do it.” And there are more reasons: “I'm going to keep kissing wherever I want. I don't want to live in fear. I don't want to be just another statistic of 'two more faggots beaten by the police,'” Amaro concludes.

Where to report it?

CNDH (at the national level)

File your complaint online at this link.

Telephone: 555-681-8125 | Toll-free number 800-715-2000

Conapred (at the national level)

File your complaint online at this link.

Mexico City phone number 55 52 62 14 90 | Toll-free number: 800 543 0033 with service hours from Monday to Thursday from 09:00 to 17:30 hours and Friday from 09:00 to 15:00 hours.

Copred (CDMX)

complaints.copred@gmail.com 

File a complaint online at this link

Telephone assistance 55 5341 3010 and 55 4600 8233 from Monday to Thursday 10:00 – 18:00 hours; Friday 10:00 to 15:00 hours. 

Urgent Cases – WhatsApp 55 4600 8233

Citizen Council's security hotline and trusted chat: 55 5533 5533

Sexual Diversity Attention Unit (UNADIS in Mexico City)

unadis.atencion@gmail.com

Non-discrimination hotline: 55 5658 1111

Urgent care (Ulises Pineda): 55 2858 6265

Channeling and containment (Gerardo Olivares): 55 4611 8811

Specialized Agency for Attention to People Members of the LGBTI+ Community (CDMX)

Location: C. Violeta 39, Guerrero, Cuauhtémoc, 06300 Mexico City, CDMX 

Location: Tecualipan s/n, Romero de Terreros, Coyoacán, 04320 Mexico City, CDMX

Telephone: 55 5200-9365