Primary School Teacher Found Stabbed to Death in Mexico for Being Gay
A gay primary school teacher was found stabbed to death in Mexico.
Hugo Méndez, a teacher who worked in Puebla, was found murdered in his home.
Neighbors called the authorities after they heard a struggle.
When paramedics arrived to help him, he was already dead.
Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.Gay teacher stabbed to death because of his sexuality
Méndez was killed because of his sexuality, according to activists.
Individuals close to him described him as a ‘very committed and sensitive person who had received numerous threats against because of his sexuality’.
As well as teaching kids, Méndez was a dance coach and costumer for a youth group.
He also dedicated himself to humanitarian efforts and charity causes for children in Puebla.
‘They did not kill him for being a teacher, or for selling costumes, or for having a dance group,’ a human rights activist told Desastre.
‘ They killed him because of his sexual orientation.
‘We are outraged. Police must find out who killed him and punish them with the full measure of the law.
‘He was one of us.’LGBTI murders in Mexico
Around six members of the LGBTI community are murdered each month in Mexico.
At least 202 murders of LGBTI people occurred between 2014 and 2016. Trans women face the majority of the violence.
A total of 108 trans women, 93 gay men and one gay woman was killed.
Alejandro Brito, the executive director of Letra S, said they’re often killed by gangs.
The activist has also noted the pattern of violence was different depending on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Gay men are often targeted by robbers, with gangs even specializing in this type of crime.
These criminals often seduce the person either in person or via an app. And then, once inside the victim’s home, they kill them.
“It’s not enough for the criminal to rob him,’ Brito said.
‘He kills him and does so with cruelty, with extreme brutality, as if he were punishing (the victim for) his sexual orientation.’