In Mexico, an HIV-Positive Man’s Death Sparks Protests for Reform

Tim MurphyCONTRIBUTING EDITORJune 29, 2021

Activists protest for HIV and LGBTQ+ rights in Chetumal after the alleged murder of a young man living with HIV.Jacobo Chuc Rey

Americans who’ve been to places like Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, or Tulum may think of Mexico as a kind of paradise: full of vivid natural beauty, replete with diverse cultures and foodways, cosmopolitan—and LGBTQ-friendly. After all, the country passed national LGBTQ protections and legalized same-sex marriage years ago, and many cities are popular and festive international queer destinations.

But the recent alleged murder of a reportedly HIV-positive young gay man in Cancún—a large resort city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea—has caused alarm among HIV and LGBTQ activists. They’ve taken to the streets in Cancún and Mexico City to demand hate crime legislation, more specialized prosecution of LGBTQ-related crimes, and an end to longstanding laws that criminalize people with HIV for having sex.

“We want American tourists and residents here to know that it’s not a constant party,” said Yeudiel Espinosa of La Red de Activistas LGBT+ of Quintana Roo. “We’re suffering from these cases of violence against people who are LGBT and/or living with HIV.” According to Espinosa, between 2011 and 2018, 58 LGBT people were murdered in Quintana Roo—but only two investigations were launched.

The most recent case reportedly involves a young man who was allegedly killed by his landlord during a party after revealing his HIV status. (According to Espinosa, this unconfirmed account was provided by the young man’s father.) The suspect was apprehended in Tabasco, about 500 miles from Cancún.

Espinosa said that La Red de Activistas LGBT+ of Quintana Roo would soon meet with local authorities and United Nations representatives to discuss prosecuting the case as a hate crime—although no such law is on the books in Quintana Roo. “We want special prosecutors for LGBT cases,” Espinosa added.