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MEXICO CITY, Mexico. Gaby Ortiz was a hairstylist and a well-known trans woman, one of the first visible trans women in the municipality of Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. On Saturday, January 6, her body was found on the side of a rural road along the Progreso-Ixmiquilpan highway. She showed signs of violence, and a piece of cardboard with a threatening message was left next to her. This is the first trans femicide recorded in 2024.

Gaby was well-known in the Mezquital Valley region (the most important cultural and geographical area of ​​Hidalgo) for her work as a stylist. She also trained beauty queens and was a role model in the region, having been an openly trans woman for twenty years.

Presentes contacted the press office of the Hidalgo State Attorney General's Office (PGJH). They reported that an investigation has been opened for the crime of femicide. However, they stated that they do not know the victim's name and are awaiting the forensic results to determine the cause of death.

According to several news reports , Gaby was receiving constant threats, which is why she was no longer seen in Ixmiquilpan. This information was confirmed by Presentesthrough activist Max Martin, a native of that municipality and member of the Existimos.  

Threat and revictimization

A disturbing photograph circulated in local media in Hidalgo, showing a woman dead with signs of violence. Social media users identified Gaby in the image.   

“Gaby’s death cannot go unpunished; it must be treated as what it is: a transfemicide. Whether or not drug trafficking is involved, this is a transfemicide, and justice must be served. That is what we demand,” Max states. 

Ferrán Baños, president of Existimos, told Presentes that the organization will seek to engage with the Prosecutor's Office to monitor the investigation. He warned that "the Prosecutor's Office remains insensitive, still lacks training, and fails to take activist groups seriously when we are the ones seeking justice for our sisters, brothers, and sisters." 

Widespread violence on the rise and the fear of activism

Next to Gaby's body, they left a piece of cardboard with a threatening message. This is a known tactic used by criminal groups to intimidate the public.

In recent years, the presence of drug trafficking criminal groups has led to an increase in violence in Hidalgo. According to data from the 2023 Peace Index, Hidalgo was one of the five states in the country with the greatest decline in peace, and crimes such as intentional homicide, extortion, sexual violence, and domestic violence increased to such an extent that Hidalgo fell off the list of the most peaceful states, a position it held in 2022. 

Despite press reports confirming the increase in violence and the presence of organized crime groups, last July the head of the Justice Secretariat, Olivares Reyna, stated that the presence of cartels operating in his state could not be confirmed. And in her latest activity report, the mayor of Ixmiquilpan, Araceli Beltrán, commented that there has been progress in security, but her municipality had one of the highest numbers of reported crimes in the country, according to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.

“It’s hard to believe that in my own community I don’t have this security with the police, with the National Guard. It’s not possible that I’m afraid to go out on the street. This is what I fear most, that one day I won’t return home, even though I’m in my own municipality, like what happened to Gaby,” Max added.

“In Ixmiquilpan they force us to stay in the closet despite being out of the closet”

After the news broke of Gaby's transphobic murder, LGBT people in Ixmiquilpan "are more afraid." Max Martín stated this in a phone call with this news outlet. 

“The trans community is still not well-received in Ixmiquilpan. Religion has too much influence here; it’s still a place of believers, and they have a hard time accepting people. A few months ago, there was a demonstration organized by the church, where they gave a talk called 'Thoughts that are not in accordance with what God commands in the Holy Scriptures,' where they addressed LGBT issues, abortion, and other topics. And it was alarming. Ixmiquilpan continues to be a municipality with conservative ideologies,” says Max Martin, a trans activist from Hidalgo, in an interview.

Max adds that, in June, for LGBT+ Pride Month, activists hung a rainbow flag outside the justice center and says that more than 80% of the comments on social media were hateful towards people of diverse sexual orientations. 

“In Ixmiquilpan, they force us to stay in the closet even though we’re out. It’s like living in the town is putting on a protective layer, to say, ‘Here (in Ixmiquilpan) you can’t be yourself.’ And it’s really messed up that I myself fear for my life and have to be someone I’m not,” Max adds.