Mexico City: LGBT+ spaces closed due to the presence of drug traffickers
Downtown Mexico City has become a very unsafe place due to the increased presence of drug cartels, police complicity, and the lack of government action.
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At least two LGBT bars in downtown Mexico City have closed indefinitely due to increased insecurity stemming from drug trafficking. Additionally, a young man reported being beaten by drug dealers and security personnel at the Baby Club bar in the Zona Rosa district.
In the early hours of June 29th, on República de Cuba Street in the city's historic center, a confrontation between organized crime gangs resulted in a young woman being shot and wounded. The incident occurred in an area with several LGBT bars. Consequently, the owners of La Purísima and Soberbia Bar decided to close indefinitely.
Business owners report practices such as extortion and protection rackets by the police, mostly targeting LGBT youth. This has led to increased insecurity in the area, and they are asking Mexico City authorities to take action.
“The security situation due to the presence of drug trafficking is serious and it's not new. What happened to the girl is serious; the media reported that she died, but she didn't, although she was seriously injured. We are in communication with her family, but this situation cannot continue. It happened to her, and it could happen again. For that reason, we decided that we cannot sell another beer until we are safe,” said Arturo Alvarez, a member of the Soberbia administration, in an interview.
Furthermore, LGBT organizations denounce that in recent years there has been negligence on the part of the city government in addressing this problem.
These incidents are not isolated. Drug-related violence doesn't just happen outside bars.
On social media, it is common to see complaints from people who frequent LGBT bars, reporting intimidation, extortion, and even beatings by drug dealers and security personnel at these establishments.
Young man reports beating at Baby Club bar
On the night of July 6, a young man reported on social media that drug dealers had assaulted him at the Baby Club bar, located in the Zona Rosa district. After sharing his experience, he received threats.
“I was attacked by dealers from Baby Club inside their premises. They took me by surprise. Out of nowhere, I started receiving punches to the face, shoves, and homophobic insults. Two security guards arrived and forcibly removed me as if I had committed an act of offense. We need safe spaces for the LGBT+ community,” the young man reported on his social media.
To date, no Baby Club member has commented on this matter.
Long-standing problem
In recent years, people who frequent LGBT bars, especially those located in the Zona Rosa district, have reported on social media acts of intimidation, extortion, and physical violence by staff at these establishments. There have even been cases of transphobia .
It is also common that when a complaint of this type goes viral, the responses are other stories of violence in spaces that are said to be "safe for the LGBT community".
In July 2019, the murder of 24-year-old Armando González also came to light. His family reported that bouncers at Híbrido Night Club, located in Zona Rosa, beat him to death after an argument. Authorities did not release further details of the incident, but later that year they stated they had identified four suspects .
In response to recent reports of insecurity from workers and patrons of LGBT bars and nightclubs, the IncluyeT Committee of the Mexico City Pride March issued a statement demanding that city authorities "initiate a strategy to guarantee safe, diverse nightlife spaces, especially in areas with high concentrations of LGBTQ+ people such as the Zona Rosa and the Historic Center."
They also denounce that the working groups to guarantee security in these areas have failed due to the omission of the Directorate of Sexual and Gender Diversity of the Mexico City government, and comment that in these meetings members of LGBT organizations seeking this dialogue have received threats.
No authority in Mexico City has commented on the most recent events.
“The presence of drug traffickers has grown significantly”
According to the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), in the last 16 years the presence of cartels and criminal groups has grown in Mexico City, where at least 18 groups and 30 subgroups of organized crime operate with greater incidence in the city center and peripheral areas .
Arturo Alvarez, who is part of the Soberbia administration, along with other businessmen, have witnessed the increase in practices such as extortion by drug traffickers and police extortion outside nightclubs frequented mainly by LGBT+ people.
“The presence of drug traffickers has grown significantly, and we need to be safe. What we ask of the authorities is security, a police force that is sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ+ communities, not one that extorts. We need safe spaces, but with the strategies the authorities have implemented, I feel they have abandoned us, not only the consumers but also the business owners. Collectively, I believe we must work to remove drug traffickers from our communities because as long as they remain, it is not safe for anyone,” adds Arturo Álvarez.
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