Alert in Soledad for the murder of trans women

On Saturday February 18, Katia, trans woman 47 years old, was murdered. The crime was committed on Calle 72 with Carrera 16 A, in the neighborhood of Los Cedros, in the municipality of soledadthe woman worked as a stylist, services she provided at home, her family is demanding justice in the case and does not rule out that it is a hate crime.

The facts were presented as part of the celebrations of the Barranquilla Carnival. Apparently the woman was approached by a hitman who shot her multiple times.

The sister of Katya He assured that his family was talking, they were sitting in a corner and that’s when the victim was approached by the murderer. Afterwards, the hitman ran to a waiting motorcycle and they both fled.

“We don’t know if the crime is due to discrimination or hatred of his condition, but we want justice to be done. He was a very popular and happy person in the neighborhood,” the sister told the outlet. Zone zero.

The case adds to the toll of homicides reported since the start of the Carnivalas of February 20, 11 murders are reported, six of which were recorded in soledad.

It is important to remember that on February 11, the death of another transgender woman the bird, as she was known, she was murdered during the night of the LGBTIQ+ Guacherna.

The organization Caribe Afirmativo assured that it was the fourth case against a LGBTIQ+ person so far this year in this Atlantic municipality, two of which were against trans women.

A situation that should lead the competent authorities to sound the alarm, since in 2022 seven cases were recorded in Soledad, while in just two months of the year this figure already exceeds half of the cases of the last year.

They warn that this violence seems to be increasing exponentially, since at the end of the year three homosexuals were murdered, two in January plus the two trans women murdered in February.

A fact that they demand be taken into account by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation of cases, just as they demand that the Guide to good practice in the event of violence against LGBTIQ+ people be used, since it must be investigated whether the crime had a harm component due to gender identity.

Attention was also requested from the Soledad Town Hall, in order to guarantee effective measures to protect the rights of LGBTIQ+ peoplefor which they request the installation of a table for urgent cases, in which the Office of the Ombudsman, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Judicial Police, Forensic Medicine and other competent authorities participate.

On February 20, an act of protest took place near the Villavicencio Public Prosecutor’s Office, which was seeking justice in the María José Astros case, the trans woman murdered in the capital of Meta, a case also reported by this media.

The appointment was made at 8:30 a.m. and participants were asked to wear white and purple clothing, according to relatives of the victim, after a month of the crime, the status of the investigation is still unclear.

One of María José’s family and friends’ biggest fears is that the case will go unpunished, they have also assured that the gender identity of the victim has not been respected, according to statements taken up by a local media.

This situation occurs despite the fact that on January 18, the women’s secretary of Villavicencio, Viviana Palacios, announced that the institutions concerned would be ordered to take the necessary measures.