Licda. Hilda Pineda, Prosecutor for the Human Rights Section of the Public Ministry
Lica. María Consuelo Porras Argueta, Attorney General of Guatemala
June 22, 2021
Dear Prosecutor Pineda and Attorney General Porras:
We are deeply disturbed by the assassinations of Cecy Ixpata and Andrea González, two transgender women leaders of the LGBTQ community, in two separate attacks just two days apart.
On June 9, Cecy Caricia Ixpata, a member of the trans rights group Otrans Reinas de la Noche (Queens of the Night) died in a hospital in Salamá, Baja Verapaz Department, from sustained injuries suffered in a violent attack. A years-long member of the advocacy group Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Personas Trans (RedLacTrans), Cecy Ixpata was found beaten inside a local produce market, found fighting for her life by a fruit and vegetable merchant.
On June 11, Andrea González, a 28-year-old who was the legal representative of Otrans Reinas de la Noche, was shot dead only meters from her home between 11th Avenue and Second Street in zone two of Guatemala City. Andrea González worked as a trans activist and leader of an initiative of the Regional Human Rights Project. She was also a fellow of the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and a collaborator with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition, Andrea González was a member of Cristosal, a research-led human rights group in Central America.
We strongly urge that the government of Guatemala
- conduct thorough and transparent investigations into the murders of Cecy Ixpata and Andrea González, publish the results and bring the perpetrators to justice
- issue a statement to condemn the murders and correct the misgendering of the two victims as reported in local media outlets
- enter into a dialogue with Otrans Reinas de la Noche and other LGBTQ advocacy organizations to advance the human rights and personal security of LGBTQ people throughout Guatemala
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai and Christine Stonebraker Martínez
Co-coordinators
copies:
Alfonso José Quiñónez Lemus, Ambassador of Guatemala to the US ~ email, US mail
Lic. Augusto Jordán Rodas Andrade, Prosecutor for Human Rights, Guatemala ~ via email
Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, Rapporteur for Guatemala, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via email and US mail
Flávia Piovesan, Rapporteur on the Rights of LGTBI Persons, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via email and US mail
OACNUDH: Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos en Guatemala ~ via email
US State Department: Guatemala Desk in Washington, DC; William Popp, US Ambassador to Guatemala, in care of human rights officer Sarahann Yeh ~ via email
US Senators Brown & Portman ~ via email
US Representatives Beatty, Gibbs, Gonzalez, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Ryan ~ via email
11 JUN 2021_TDOR_Guatemala
