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"Leave it to me, I've always wanted to hit one of these guys," said Juan Sabín's attacker, before throwing him to the ground and kicking him outside a bowling alley. 

“This is what happens to you for being a faggot,” they wrote to Lucas Nocito at his cabin in Tigre, after vandalizing it.

In the last week, two homophobic attacks came to light, in a year marked by an increase in hate crimes in Argentina: 70% more than in 2024.

Juan Sabín is 24 years old and lives in Malvinas Argentinas, a town in the province of Buenos Aires. His dream is to be a model. Two weeks ago, he did a photo shoot to start promoting himself. “I love the runway, I want to get involved in that whole world,” he told Presentes .

Last Friday, August 15th, he went out dancing with a friend who lives in the United States and was visiting. They went to Rheo, a party allied with the LGBTQ+ community, at the Crobar nightclub, located in the Costanera Norte area of ​​the Palermo neighborhood in Buenos Aires. During the early morning hours, his friend received some bad news: his grandmother had passed away. They decided to leave the club before the party ended to clear their heads, around 5:30 a.m. They walked along Paseo de la Infanta to Avenida del Libertador and hailed a car. His friend was crying. 

“Two boys walked by and started sobbing like him, mocking him. I told them what they were doing was wrong, I wasn't going to stand idly by. They turned around, came running, and jumped me. The skinny one said to his friend, 'Leave him to me, I've always wanted to beat one of these guys up,'” Juan recounted to various media outlets about the attack. Then he fell to the ground and the stranger kicked him in the face.

“I want justice to be done”

The car they had requested took them to the José Dueñas Dental Hospital, from where he was transferred to Piñero Hospital. As a result of the attack, Juan suffered a fractured jaw. Last Monday, he underwent maxillofacial surgery and is currently recovering at home with his mother and grandparents. He will need orthodontic treatment because his teeth were shifted by the blows. He is worried about not being able to continue his modeling career during this time, but he assures everyone, "I'll be fine, just in a few months.".

On the Saturday following the attack, she filed a complaint with the Criminal, Contraventional and Minor Offenses Prosecutor's Office No. 13 , specializing in discrimination, headed by Andrea Verónica Scanga.

“I want justice for what they did to me, and I want them to declare it attempted murder,” Sabín told this agency. Over the past few days, various organizations, such as the Argentine LGBT Federation (FALGBT), have contacted him, and the municipality will provide him with psychological support. Many young people, some from different countries, who have experienced similar situations, have also reached out through social media.

“This speaks of hatred”

Lucas Nocito is 43 years old, has one son, and was born in Tigre. He is a third-generation resident: his father and grandparents are also from this town, 18 kilometers north of the City of Buenos Aires. Twenty-four years ago, he acquired a house in the Delta, a place that has historically been a refuge for LGBTQ+ people , particularly during the State Terrorism.

Last Wednesday, he sensed something was wrong. The security cameras at his Delta home weren't working. He asked a neighbor to check on him. “Hey Luqui, everything's bad, I don't know what they did to you… Look, they burned your door, they burned the lock… they broke it. You were right… something about vandalism, look,” his neighbor replied in a video showing the damage . Besides burning the lock, they cut the wires with machetes, smashed the security cameras, and left messages spray-painted on the facade: “You get what's coming to you, faggot.”

“I’m shocked. This speaks of hatred. At another time, I would have let it go out of fear, but today I won’t allow it. Since time immemorial, the Delta has been a place of embrace. Many gay men, queers, and lesbians have lived and still live in these places in search of love and peace. For this to happen makes you think we’re going backward. It could have ended in tragedy,” Lucas shared in a conversation with Presentes .

He filed the report at the police station in Paraná de las Palmas and Río Carapachay and is waiting to be notified by the Prosecutor's Office. "I had to go from my house to there by boat. Not everyone can do that," he said. 

Another homophobic attack.

Norberto Lorenzo, psychologist and co-founder in the 2000s of the Gay Catholic Community of Buenos Aires, has just suffered a homophobic attack against his home and office in Ituzaingó, Buenos Aires province.

This is the third such incident in the last 10 days. pic.twitter.com/ebQzcxvOCh

— Franco Torchia (@francotorchia_) August 26, 2025

“The government chose the LGBT community as its enemy.”

Through security camera footage from a neighbor that recorded another attack on a home the same day and using the same method, Lucas and other island residents concluded that the attackers were local youths. “When I found out they were minors and acting with this hatred, I realized something had to be done. I can't blame them; many are 16 years old. But I needed this to be known because the hatred is growing. There are no policies in place here. It would be good if there were an investigation and an attempt to repair this, and if there were a policy of educating the public in schools,” Nocito said. 

These attacks are occurring within the context of a rise in violence and hate speech targeting sexual diversity. According to the National Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Hate Crimes, 102 violent attacks motivated by hatred toward sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression were recorded in the first six months of 2025. This represents a 70% increase compared to the total number recorded during 2024.

“Cases of verbal, physical, psychological, and all other types of aggression have been increasing exponentially in recent months, and this is undoubtedly related to the hate speech emanating from positions of power. Unfortunately, the national government has chosen the LGBT community as its enemy. This hatred toward our community is legitimized and translates into acts of violence and discrimination against LGBT people in our country,” FALGBT board and head of the Institute Against Discrimination at the Ombudsman's Office of the City of Buenos Aires Presentes .

During Javier Milei's presidency, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and women have suffered a systematic attack. The president himself delivered a speech to the international community at the Davos Economic Forum in which he spread misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community and associated homosexuals with pedophilia.