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MEXICO CITY, Mexico. In the first two weeks of 2024, five transgender women were murdered in Mexico, and two more were beaten to death. The victims Gaby Ortiz in Hidalgo ; Vanessa and her partner in Veracruz; an unidentified transgender woman in Jalisco; and activists Samantha Gómez Fonseca and Miriam Ríos in Mexico City and Michoacán, respectively. Both Gómez Fonseca and Ríos were slated to run for political office in this year's elections.

In addition, two transgender women were assaulted. One of them was influencer Paola Suárez, a member of Las Perdidas, who was beaten by her partner in Guanajuato. And in the State of Mexico, activist Nicté Chávez was beaten by her neighbor, who had repeatedly threatened her.

Protests took place in Mexico City. Activists assert that this wave of transphobic violence is linked to statements made by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. On January 8, during a press conference, he referred to transgender congresswoman Salma Luévano using male pronouns. He also used a phrase historically employed by sensationalist media to refer to transgender women.

“Andrés Manuel, you may be a man dressed as a leftist, but you represent the most reactionary right wing in this country. Your hands are stained with blood because, from your position, you have contributed to the increase in violence against trans people. We live in a country where our aggressors act with impunity. Today we declare Mexico a highly dangerous country for the lives of trans people,” said activist Victoria Sámano during the protest outside the National Palace.

Samantha Fonseca aspired to the Senate of the Republic

Samantha Gómez Fonseca was 37 years old. She was a human rights activist for LGBT people, focusing on those deprived of their liberty. She participated in public policy initiatives and last October received the Medal of Merit for Human Rights Defenders, awarded by the Mexico City Congress. She was running for a seat in the Senate in the 2024 elections for the Morena political party. This podcast tells her story of life and struggle as a human rights defender.

Samantha was murdered on Sunday, January 14, as she left the Reclusorio Sur prison in the Xochimilco borough. She took a taxi through a ride-hailing app; someone approached the car and shot her.

“Sunday night into Monday was terrifying; Samantha is gone. We don’t know what’s happening, we don’t understand. Samantha was very worried about the violence that’s going on; the murder of our colleague Miriam hit her hard, and her interpretation was, ‘They’re killing us.’ She’d been saying this for a year. They called her an exaggerator, and now I want to see their faces so they can tell me to my face that I’m exaggerating,” commented Juan de Dios Ávila, a friend, collaborator of Samantha, and president of the LGBTIQ+ Congress of Mexico City and the State of Mexico, in an Presentes

Mexico City Mayor Martí Batres announced during a press conference that the attack was premeditated. “At a certain point, there was someone who apparently knew the victim was going to pass by, pointed a gun at him, and shot him,” he said.

The Attorney General's Office of Mexico City reported that the Transfeminicide Unit belonging to the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Investigation of the Crime of Femicide is investigating the incident.

“At the Prosecutor’s Office, they told us, ‘It will be handled by the femicide unit out of respect for Samantha.’ No, it’s not about respect for Samantha; it is what it is: femicide. And it’s very regrettable that they continue to use these hurtful rhetoric. We don’t want her to be revictimized. They have the power to solve this, but it’s unbelievable that with cameras everywhere, there are no leads, not even a single arrest. The president contributed to this violence, and now, because of his words, transphobic people will justify their violence. It’s outrageous,” added Juan de Dios Ávila, Samantha’s colleague.

Samantha's wake was held on the night of January 15th. On social media, politicians, public officials, activists from Mexico and other countries, singers, and influencers left messages demanding that this femicide not go unpunished.

Miriam Ríos was seeking to participate in local elections in Michoacán

Miriam Ríos was 38 years old, an activist and coordinator of the Respeto e Igualdad collective where she defended the rights of LGBT people, she was also a municipal commissioner for the Movimiento Ciudadano political party in Jacona, Michoacán. 

This year, Miriam was seeking to run for city councilor in Jacona, but she was murdered on January 11. According to local press reports, a group of people approached her clothing store and shot her. No arrests have been made.

On social media, the state coordinator of the Citizens' Movement , Antonio Carreño, confirmed the murder and demanded justice. “This case is a clear example of the insecurity that exists in the state and that is being experienced during this electoral process. We ask and demand that the state government not ignore this situation and pay attention to the issue (…) this crime cannot go unpunished.”

So far this year, five people aspiring to a political position for the 2024 electoral process have been murdered in Mexico. 

Michoacán is a state that, since the implementation of the security strategy to combat drug trafficking in 2006, has maintained areas with high levels of widespread violence. The Zamora-Jacona area is one of them. Local press reports indicated that Miriam was receiving threats from organized crime; we were unable to confirm this information. 

However, LGBT groups from Jacona and Michoacán es Diversidad, as part of the National Observatory of Hate Crimes, told this publication that they will continue to monitor the situation to achieve justice. They also stressed the importance of broadening the scope of the investigation.

“All lines of investigation must be exhausted, both at the social level, given that this is a conservative and religious area of ​​Michoacán, and at the political level, due to the electoral struggle that uses people to instill fear. We cannot ignore this violence. We urge LGBT people to take care of themselves. We ask the National Electoral Institute (INE) at both the federal and Michoacán levels to establish protocols for addressing violence based on gender identity and sexual orientation,” they stated.

The Michoacán Prosecutor's Office reported that this incident is being investigated under the Protocol for Attention to Political Violence Against Women Based on Gender and the National Protocol for Action for Personnel of Law Enforcement Agencies, in cases involving Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity.

Vanessa was murdered along with her partner in Veracruz

Vanesa was murdered in her home along with her partner in Coatzacoalcos, a municipality in southern Veracruz. Local media reported that the couple was shot on the night of January 6. A piece of cardboard with a threatening message was left at the scene, warning of “the involvement of members of the state police in illicit activities.”

The events took place in a red-light district, according to news reports. According to activist Jazz Bustamante, Vanesa was a sex worker.

Veracruz is one of the states with the highest number of violent deaths against LGBT people. According to Letra S , 457 hate crimes were reported in the last five years. This record places Veracruz among the most violent states each year.

The Prosecutor's Office did not report the incident on its official channels. When we contacted them by phone and asked if they were following protocol, they put the call on hold.

An unidentified trans woman in Jalisco

In Jalisco, on January 13, in a ravine in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, the lifeless body of a trans woman, who has not yet been identified, was found with signs of violence. 

Local news reports indicate that authorities confirmed the body had a gunshot wound in the back and had been dead for at least 12 hours. The Jalisco Attorney General's Office has not reported this incident through any communication channels.

In 2022, the Center for Support of Trans Identities recorded a total of 53 transfeminicides, of which 13 were of trans women who could not be identified. 

Attacks against Nicté Chávez and Paola Suárez

In the early hours of January 10, influencer Paola Suárez was assaulted by her partner and hospitalized in Guanajuato. In this opinion piece , activist Irene Valdivia explains how this act of violence reopened the discussion about relationships and trans women and their implications.

That same day, activist Nicté Chávez reported on social media that she had been assaulted by a neighbor. Nicté told Presentes that the neighbor's hostility began after she started her transition, and that the threats and harassment are also directed at her wife and children.

Nicte recounted on social media that her neighbor assaulted her and, during the attack, shouted transphobic and misogynistic insults at her. Her attacker punched her in the face, leaving a wound near her eye that required three stitches. When her wife tried to defend her, the neighbor also assaulted her.

“On the day of the attack we called the police, but they never arrived. If they had arrived, they would have caught him in the act, but now we are waiting for the process with the Prosecutor's Office and for the authorities to clarify and for justice to be done for me,” Nicte told Presentes.

At the Justice Center for Women of the State of Mexico she was attended to and the State of Mexico Prosecutor's Office granted her a protection order that results in police officers visiting her home at least once a day. 

Nicté reported her attacker and is waiting for the Prosecutor's Office to link her case to consider her a victim of gender violence.  

“I’m afraid for my family, for myself, and I feel violated in my privacy, attacked. The wave of violence we are experiencing is real. I am standing strong, but other trans sisters are not here because someone simply decided to take their lives. It’s not fair that we can’t live in peace and tranquility,” she added.