Two soldiers convicted of the transfemicide of La Soñaré: “It was a hate crime motivated by transphobia”
In an unprecedented ruling, the court recognized that the murder of La Soñaré, a trans woman, was a transphobic hate crime. Two military officers were convicted. This is the second time the murder of a trans woman has not gone unpunished in Mexico.
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico. A judge sentenced two soldiers for the murder of Naomi Nicole, a 26-year-old trans woman and sex worker known as La Soñaré . For the transfemicide they committed in March 2020, the perpetrators will serve 23 years and nine months in prison. The sentence was praised by the judicial system for its gender and human rights approach and comes after collaborative work between the justice system, activists, and civil society.
“We have justice for Naomi, I feel very excited.” With a smile and a hint of relief, human rights defender Kenya Cuevas uttered these words yesterday after the sentence was handed down, upon leaving the South Men’s Preventive Prison in Mexico City.
Justice with a gender perspective
Issued on August 3, 2022, this ruling sets a precedent for the right of transgender women to access justice in Mexico. It is the second of its kind to recognize the gender identity of a transgender woman in a judicial process with a gender and human rights perspective.
The legal process lasted almost two and a half years. The participation of a protected witness was crucial to reaching the verdict.
Although the crime was classified as homicide, and despite the fact that the crime of transfeminicide does not exist within the Penal Code of Mexico City, the judge argued in his ruling that due to Naomi's gender identity and her circumstances of vulnerability, it is a hate crime motivated by transphobia .
“The recognition the judges gave us is a great achievement. There was a vision of justice with a gender and human rights perspective. I believe this is how we should be judging in our country and in all cases. It is very important; it is a call to all of society that those who kill trans women or anyone from the community can be punished. We have value, and we will continue to defend ourselves as God gives us life,” commented Kenya Cuevas, activist and director of Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias.
“We achieved earthly justice”
La Soñaré was originally from the municipality of Las Choapas, Veracruz and was 26 years old when she was insulted, beaten and murdered with a firearm by José Luis Saturnino Chávez and Aristóteles Alan Ramírez Rodea, both active corporals of the Secretariat of National Defense.
The incident occurred in the early morning of March 24, 2020 in the Guerrero neighborhood of Mexico City, where she worked as a sex worker.
Kenya will seek to appeal the sentence. But she says that if that doesn't happen, she feels at peace.
“I want to tell Naomi, wherever she is, that even though some years have passed, and there has been a lot of frustration and anger, we have achieved earthly justice. Within my role as a friend, activist, godmother, and sister, I believe I have brought this case to a close—not a happy one, but with the peace of mind that comes from knowing these two people will be deprived of their freedom for at least 23 years. And that they will not be able to harm another trans woman,” she expressed.
Why was it a trial with a gender and human rights focus?
During the legal process and when giving the verdict, the judge recognized Naomi Nicole as a trans woman, migrant and sex worker.
“I felt that they were able to make visible certain positions that trans people have regarding vulnerability. That is never exposed. It is very important in this case because we were able to understand the high rate of vulnerability to their human rights where (Naomi Nicole) could not even defend herself,” Kenya emphasized.
He also commented that the judges and the Public Prosecutor argued based on theses and reports published by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), something he considers a benchmark for those who administer justice in Mexico.
The prosecutor of Criminal Courts South, Miguel Ángel Cariño López; the head of the transfeminicide investigation unit of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Crime of Femicide of Mexico City, Miguel Ángel Barrera; and the Public Prosecutor, María del Rosario Miranda, were the ones who carried out the investigation file with a gender and human rights perspective for the case of La Soñaré .
Justice and a little reparation
As part of the sentence handed down by the judge, the reparation of the damage was taken into account, which implies compensation for five years with a value of 123.22 pesos and funeral expenses of 7,779 pesos.
Part of the financial compensation will go to Naomi Nicole's mother, who demanded justice from the beginning but, finding herself in a precarious situation, entrusted Kenya with the handling of her daughter's case. The other part will go to the Tiresias Dollhouse organization.
There will be no security measures for Kenya and the protected witness because, according to the activist, "no indication of threat, attack or anything that would put our status as indirect victims at risk was manifested during the hearing."
However, the defense for the killers sought to discredit Kenya Cuevas's status as an indirect victim by arguing that she was not a relative. But the judge determined, based on Article 45 of the local Penal Code , that the human rights defender was indeed an indirect victim because she knew Naomi before the murder and was the one who identified her body. He also secured a commitment from the Mexico City Attorney General's Office to investigate the murder using a gender perspective protocol.
Transphobic hate crime
The sentence against the defendants was for homicide, and during the ruling the judge argued that it was a hate crime motivated by transphobia.
In Mexico City, the crime of transfeminicide is not specifically defined in the penal code. And the crime of femicide does not include trans women. However, since 2020, the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Investigation of Femicide has had a transfeminicide investigation unit. It is the only one of its kind nationwide, conducting investigations into cases of violent deaths of trans women, regardless of whether or not they have legally changed their gender identity.
“The judges argued that the protected witness, when she gave her testimony, said that before they got out of the car they yelled at Soñaré, ‘We’re going to kill you, faggot.’ With this argument they determined that it was an act of transphobic hate, and that is why they gave the sentence,” Kenya commented.
She also explained that the fact that Naomi was murdered by active-duty military personnel was taken into consideration during the legal proceedings. “The judges argued that (the perpetrators) did not experience any inequality or vulnerability in their rights in their lives after this act,” the activist said.
According to data from the organization Intersecta , in Mexico five out of ten trans women have been killed with a firearm.
According to Intersecta, this is due to “the growing availability of firearms in the country, the transformation of the public security strategy and the intensification of militarization since the government of Felipe Calderon (who in 2006 declared the 'war on drugs').”
Second transfemicide without impunity in Mexico
The sentence handed down against the murderers of La Soñaré is the second of its kind in all of Mexico. The first occurred in the state of Morelos in 2020 when the Prosecutor's Office for Femicides announced that it had “conclusively proven the responsibility of Honorio “N” in the femicide committed against Ana Paula 'N', a trans woman, obtaining a sentence of more than 26 years in prison.”
Kenya Cuevas is currently involved in the legal proceedings of at least six cases of trans femicide, in which she is also recognized as an indirect victim. Among them is the case of her friend Paola Buenrostro (murdered in September 2016), whose case remains unresolved after the Prosecutor's Office released the only person arrested that same year.
When Kenya was asked why so many cases have gone unpunished, in the context of the recent sentence that released the only person arrested for the transfeminicide of trans activist Mireya Rodriguez , she commented, "We have a lot of work to do."
“The ruling in Chihuahua was horrific. Something those judges lacked, which these judges did have, specifically in this case, was research on LGBT issues, on trans people. So, the fact that they researched, investigated, and considered the guidelines for vulnerability in the trial reflects a justice system that is still developing. In Chihuahua, they didn't take this into account. For the judges, it was very easy to dismiss evidence and issue a ruling based on their privileges.”
Message for the defenders
At the end of the hearing, Kenya stated that this was an achievement resulting from the coordinated work between civil society, activists, and the Public Prosecutor's Office. She also made a call to action for women human rights defenders.
“Let’s not lose heart. Let’s keep going even if we get angry or frustrated. There will always be a ray of light along the way, and this is the ray we needed to keep believing in what we’re doing.”
Kenya concluded: “House of Dolls will always be active, monitoring and striving for justice. For the first time, I can say I’m leaving a hearing happy… I will always continue working to give dignity to women, even after they’re dead .”
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