Mexico: Violence against trans people and murders of LGBTI+ advocates have increased in the last year.
The report by the organization Letra S reported 66 murders of LGBTI+ people in 2023.
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In 2023, 66 LGBTI+ people were murdered in Mexico, and more than half of the victims were trans women, according to the latest report by Letra S. The organization has been documenting the violent deaths of people of diverse sexuality in the country for more than two decades.
On average, six LGBT+ people were murdered each month. But the report clarifies that this number does not correspond to the actual figure. Not all murders are reported or reported by the press. In this regard, Letra S highlights that the number of LGBT+ people murdered last year could rise to more than 150 .
This report, unlike previous ones, highlights the increase in transphobic violence . It also highlights the increase in the number of murdered LGBT+ human rights defenders.
Crosses with organized crime
One new development is the involvement of organized crime. And how justice authorities consider this as a line of investigation, not necessarily the victim's sexual orientation and gender identity.
The factor that remains is that the Mexican State continues to fail to record or document the prejudice-based violence experienced by LGBT+ people , despite recommendations from international and regional organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
As of May 14, 2024, Letra S has documented 31 hate crimes against 28 trans women, 2 gay men, and one lesbian woman.
Trans women, the most violated
Trans women continue to be the primary victims of hate violence in Mexico. Of the 66 hate crimes recorded, 43 of the victims were trans women.
One thing this report highlights is that the victim's age was identified in only half of the recorded transfemicides. On average, the trans women murdered were 33 years old.
In addition, this past year, the murders of 16 gay men and four lesbian women were reported. The murders of one muxe person, one trans man, and one other victim classified as "other" were reported, respectively. The average age of these victims was 35.
Once again, the state of Veracruz was the state with the highest number of violent deaths, and Guanajuato joined it as the region with the most documented cases. Guerrero, Mexico City, Puebla, Colima, and Sonora followed.
Torture prevails
The forms of LGBT-hating violence continue to be brutal. Letter S identified instances of torture, mutilation, and hog-tied bodies. In at least eight cases, combinations of more than one form of violence were identified.
The firearm was the most common lethal weapon used to take the lives of 34 LGBT people out of the 66 reported cases.
Abusers choose public spaces to assault or murder trans people. In the case of gay men, this happens in both public and private spaces. Violent deaths of lesbian women remain in private spheres.
These murders are used to leave "a kind of intimidating message, in which the victims and their bodies become a communication target for an entire community," says Colombian lawyer María Gómez in the report.
In Presentes, we have been able to capture this symbolic dimension in articles on hate crimes that we have published, where activists in the territories express this fear by feeling, "I could be next .
What the Justice is investigating
The main lines of investigation pursued by justice authorities in these cases are organized crime, intentional or aggravated homicide, and femicide. The latter crime has been used in cases where the victims are lesbian, trans, and bisexual women.
“Five years ago, the role of organized crime wasn't so visible, but we've noticed a growing trend over the last three years, especially in the murders of trans women sex workers. The problem is that the justice system identifies them as accomplices, and in that sense, there's a need to make this relationship more complex and highlight their vulnerability,” Samuel Martínez explains in an interview.
Of the 66 documented cases, the presence of "multiple aggressors" was identified in at least 23. Likewise, in at least 10 cases, someone was arrested: 4 were charged; 3 are fugitives; and 2 remain in pretrial detention.
In Mexico, only 13 states have classified hate crimes based on sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity. Regarding this aggravating factor, Martínez explains that in the Mexican justice system, "it is still very complex to recognize hate," and therefore this aggravating factor is not used to investigate the violent deaths of LGBT+ people.
Impunity prevails
Furthermore, despite the existence of the National Protocol for the Action of Law Enforcement Personnel to guarantee the rights of LGBTI+ people in Mexico , impunity for hate crimes prevails.
“First responders, such as the police officer who is notified of a case and subsequently the investigating officers, are the ones who determine whether a case is investigated based on the victim's gender identity and sexual orientation; if an expert determines that these characteristics are not relevant, the investigation takes a different path. It is the lack of knowledge of protocols, prejudices, and biases that also determine why victims are not recognized and do not receive justice,” Martínez concludes.
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