The crisis of violence against trans Americans is well-documented, but less attention has been paid to the global epidemic of anti-trans homicides. In Guatemala, there have reportedly been at least 13 anti-LGBTQ+ homicides so far this year, and two prominent trans activists, Andrea González and Cecy Ixpata, were killed last week, just days apart.
González and Ixpata were both members of Reinas de la Noche (or “Queens of the Night”), an organization based in Guatemala City led by and for trans women. Ixpata, who was also a member of the trans advocacy group RedTrans, was beaten to death last Wednesday while working as a vendor in a fruit and vegetable market. According to the Latinx LGBTQ+ publication Agencia Presentes, she was transferred to Salamá Hospital, where she died of her injuries.
González, who served as president of Reinas de la Noche, was shot to death on Friday close to her place of residence in Guatemala City. She was rushed to the San Juan de Dios General Hospital, where she was reportedly misgendered and deadnamed in official statements.
Sources close to González claim that she had been the victim of extortion and that she was being threatened because of her work advocating for trans equality, according to Agencia Presentes. Katy Veit, vice president of the Central American human rights organization Cristosal, referred to González’s murder as an “assassination” in a statement posted to Facebook on Saturday.
“She was a key partner for Cristosal in Guatemala, and we will be representing her case to bring her killers to justice,” Veit wrote. “Please remember Andrea and her friends, associates, and family in your [thoughts] and prayers.”
A funeral service was held for González on Sunday, which was also filled with tributes to the activist.
While there has been little reporting on the wave of violence affecting transgender Guatemalans, the murder of a transgender woman from El Salvador made international news last August after she fled to El Salvador for safety. The victim, whose name was not released to the media, hoped to apply for refugee status after escaping persecution in her home country, according to the LGBTQ+ news publication Washington Blade.
