Mexico: Five LGBT+ people victims of hate crimes in two weeks
In Mexico there have been five hate crimes against LGBT people so far in 2025.
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico. In the first two weeks of 2025, at least five LGBT+ people were victims of hate crimes in Mexico. Zulma Hernández Mendoza (43 years old) and Khloe Jiménez (17 years old) are the first victims of transphobic violence. Ariadna Cortes (32 years old) was a lesbian woman who was reported missing and later found dead. Ehdibaldo Presa was a gay man and professor at the University of Veracruz; and Christian Cutiño was a 31-year-old Muxe man.
Prosecutor's offices do not report on these cases in most instances. Activists are the ones who document these crimes, demand investigations that adhere to human rights, and support families in their pursuit of justice.
Zulma was murdered in her beauty salon.
Zulma Hernandez Mendoza was 43 years old and lived in Santiago Jamiltepec, a municipality in the southern part of the state of Oaxaca. She owned a beauty salon located on the Acapulco-Salina Cruz federal highway.
Local media reported that Zulma was shot inside her beauty salon on January 10th at 10:00 AM. Neighbors alerted authorities after hearing the gunfire, but it is unknown whether a single person or a group of people entered her business.
To date, the Oaxaca Attorney General's Office has not issued any statement regarding this incident, nor has the state's Human Rights Commission. On Facebook, residents of Jamiltepec demanded justice for Zulma and remembered her as "a renowned stylist in our town."
17-year-old Khloe “was very excited to explore her identity”
Khloe Jimenez was a 17-year-old transgender teenager. She was originally from Tacotalpa, a municipality in the southern part of the state of Tabasco. Khloe had the support of her family and actively participated in community events openly as a transgender woman.
According to Felipe, Khloe's friends describe her as a "cheerful, fun-loving young woman who made friends with everyone and was very excited to explore her gender identity."
Khloe was found dead with signs of violence on her body on January 13. Felipe Sánchez, coordinator of Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias in Tabasco, explained in an interview with Presentes that what is known is that the address where she was found was not her home and that she entered with a man.
“In the outlying municipalities, we see the highest rates of marginalization, discrimination, and stigma, especially toward trans women, trans men, and non-binary people. The existing institutions are not equipped to handle these issues, and there are few activist groups—few in the state capital and none at all in the remote municipalities. Furthermore, the presence of religious groups in the media makes hate speech more readily available to the public. All of this makes it difficult for our population to know their rights, and it perpetuates the marginalization and violation of their identities by society and institutions,” Sánchez explains.
The local media outlets that reported on the incident revictimized Khloe by using her legal name and misgendering her. Furthermore, they used the narrative of a “crime of passion,” a tactic historically employed by the media to revictimize LGBT+ people and perpetuate prejudice against them.
The Prosecutor's Office has not provided any information, either through its official channels or to Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias, regarding whether Khloe's gender identity is being considered in the investigation. Nor have they indicated whether they have activated the National LGBTI+ Action Protocol , which aims to guarantee access to justice for these populations.
Ariadna was for eleven months and was found dead
Ariadna Cortés was originally from Iztapalapa , a neighborhood in Mexico City. She was 32 years old and worked in marketing. On February 2, 2024, her girlfriend and family reported her disappearance in Río Blanco, Veracruz, where she lived with her partner. That day, men entered Ariadna's home and forcibly took her away.
On January 8, the State Search Commission announced that Ariadna had been found dead, posting her missing person report on the Alba Protocol and adding a black ribbon. However, the authorities did not provide further information, including the date and location where she was found.
According to the news outlet N+, Ariadna's body was found on a property in the town of Moyoapan, in the mountainous region of Veracruz. The same outlet reported that "the alleged kidnappers demanded a ransom for her release; however, once her family notified the Attorney General's Office, they stopped receiving messages and calls from the kidnappers."
The Marea Verde – Altas Montañas de Veracruz collective expressed their outrage over this incident. “We are fed up with continuing to experience the same scenario of violence against women. Justice for Ariadna!!”
Cristian was a muxe and was executed in Juchitán
Cristian Cutiño was 31 years old. On January 14, in Juchitán, Oaxaca, her body was found with gunshot wounds in a vacant lot. Cristian was originally from Villaflores, Chiapas.
According to reporter Fernando Santiago of NVI Noticias , a local news outlet, “authorities have launched an investigation into the homicide. Initial investigations point to possible conflicts related to robbery and drug possession.”
According to the reporter, Cristian was identified by the authorities because she had a history of being arrested for crimes such as robbery or drug possession and was then released because no one filed a complaint against her.
To date, no family member has claimed his body. If Cristian's body is not identified, it could end up buried in a mass grave, a common fate for transgender people who are murdered or whose bodies are not claimed by their families .
Ehdibaldo was an agronomy teacher and academic at the University of Veracruz.
Ehdibaldo was a professor at the University of Veracruz, where he taught agronomy. He was originally from Puebla. On January 7, he was found dead in his home in Córdoba, Veracruz. His body had stab wounds and signs of torture.
In an interview with Diario de Xalapa , Leonardo Ruiz Moreno, president of the Orgullo Xalapa collective, commented that both this case and Ariadna's case are not framed by the justice authorities as a hate crime, but that "they are framed in a context of cruelty and malice."
According to data from the National Observatory of Hate Crimes, in 2024 four disappearances and nine murders of LGBT+ people were reported in Veracruz. This state remains one of the most violent toward dissidents, as reported annually by Letra S, an organization that has analyzed and recorded hate crimes for over two decades.
Ruiz Morena denounces that the state prosecutor's office continues to fail to guarantee justice. Furthermore, she alleges that the authorities revictimize the families who file complaints.
“There has been no dialogue with the prosecutor, nor any follow-up on cases. We see that our authorities don't care about us. We want a specialized prosecutor's office and for the pending initiatives to be addressed,” told the Diario de Xalapa newspaper.
Impunity reigns
Most hate crimes against LGBTI+ people go unpunished in Mexico.
The country has a National Protocol to guarantee the right to justice for LGBTI+ people , but institutions are not using it. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has expressed its concern about the increase in hate crimes, especially trans femicides, and has called on the Mexican State to take action to prevent, punish, and ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished.
In Mexico, only 13 states have codified hate crimes based on sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity. Regarding this aggravating factor, Jair Martínez, an analyst and researcher at Letra S , explains that in the Mexican justice system, “recognizing hate is still very complex,” and that is why this aggravating factor is not used to investigate the violent deaths of LGBTI+ people.
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