Three LGBTQ activists have been murdered in Guerrero, Mexico.
The bodies of Roberto Vega, Carlos Uriel Lopez and Ruben Estrada were discovered by authorities in the city of Taxo.
The Washington Blade reports that the men were out at a nightclub on Sunday, June 17 when they became the target of a group of men demanding money.
They refused to pay and were grabbed, thrown in a van and driven away.
Local news reports that all three died of gunshot wounds to the head.
Other reports suggest they were tortured before they died.
Vega, Lopez and Estrada were all active members of their local LGBTQ community. Estrada, 35, helped organize the annual Pride celebration and was in a relationship with Lopez.
Gaby Soberanis of the LGBT group Diversidad Guerrero said: “We are sad, depressed.
“They were young. They had a future ahead of them. The entire state’s LGBTI rights movement is sad, is in mourning.”
startenout
This is such a sad loss to the international movement. God bless their families and friends.
sfcarlos65
Such a tragic loss! RIP
vegwell
Our world is growing steadily madder. I am just gutted today, in general.
wibb
What makes it sadder is Mexico has more murders than just about everyone. Whole buses of people at a time. The police force is corrupt. The drug lords run most everything. It is so sad. God bless those poor men.
willie bill
This is really sad; I have heard so many stories about tourists being snatched and murdered in Mexico. It’s a very dangerous place and essentially, our safety cannot be guaranteed. Net: stay t f out of Mexico, there are plenty of other places in the world for us to spend our money. Sad, but very true–until it gets cleaned up.
willie bill
RIP to our brothers and prayers to their families, friends and loved ones.
RobtheElder
I wish I could tell you that I have planned an elaborate vacation to Mexico that I’m cancelling because of the robbery and murder of these three young men. Because of the uncertainty of continued safe existence anywhere in Mexico, I wouldn’t consider such a vacation under any circumstances. I am, of course, desolated by the fate of these three beautiful men, but theirs is not the most grievous transgression experienced by travelers to Mexico. Why would anyone go there? When will the central government clean up the vandals and murderers that spoil even the thought of unnecessary travel in Mexico… RobtheElder
Aires the Ram
If one could “follow the money”, you’d find your answer. Totally corrupt.
joxx67
Truly heartbreaking! There final moments must have been terrifying. I would avoid Mexico at all costs, it’s not safe and gay men can’t count on the police for any help
Kangol
This is very sad news. May all of these men rest in peace, and may the authorities find their murderers ASAP. One way to help would be to support Mexican LGBTQ groups and activists, who are doing important work there. Also, people may not know it, but Mexico’s presidential election takes place in just a few weeks, on July 1, I believe, and the front-runner, AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador), who was denied the presidency several times by the main ruling parties, will very likely win. His election could mark a change in the on-the-ground situation in Mexico, as he has vowed to break the hold of the elites, allegedly in cahoots with the military and cartels, who have long ruled the country and are running it into the ground.
strix1
Mexico is not a country you want to visit…full of corruption. Sad loss for these innocent activists. I don’t see anything changing Mexico anytime soon…I would not even visit the popular tourist destinations like Cancun, Cabo San Lucas. Too bad, at one time it was a unique place to visit.
Young
The name of the city is Taxco. This is tragic news; however, I think it’s worth my time to add some insight. I’m an American, grew up in Georgia. I have lived in Mexico City for the last 18 years, right downtown. I’m also a reporter.
According to the tourism ministry, 39mn foreign tourists came to Mexico in 2017, roughly double that of 2007, and Mexico is already in the top six or seven destinations for global travel. This is for good reason. Mexico is an incredible country. I have traveled to 26 of the 31 states, and I am constantly amazed at the diversity of landscapes and cultures, stemming in large part from the wide variety of indigenous cultures filtered through their own history with colonialism, as well as individual takes on cosmopolitan life in the major cities. But Mexico is in a word … Beautiful. Oh and there are a lot of great beaches too.
So why spend your money here? Because, for those of you in the states, it’s a short cheap flight to hundreds of potential destinations, where you can learn more about your southern neighbor at a time in history when it is critically important for people from both countries to get away from the news feeds and do some real human interaction — learn from each other in face-to-face interactions.
I’m not saying that this incident isn’t tragic, it’s horrible, but I imagine those victims wouldn’t have wanted you to cancel your trip because of what happened to them.
Mexico does have different risks and problems that you don’t see much in the US. That is undeniable. Also undeniable is the near daily violence that is most often tied to the drug cartels. I suspect this was also the case with this incident.
Should you monitor the state department’s website before you plan a trip? Sure, it’s best to be well informed and know what areas and activities (which are often very detailed in the state department reports) should be avoided.
Personally, if you are a first-timer, I would recommend avoiding Guerrero state (where Acapulco and Taxco are). But really, if you are doing the whole fly down, stay at an all-exclusive and go on a planned tour, I’d say you are 99.999% not going have any problem at all. If you go to some random club at night, get drunk and pick up a random taxi …well, all three of those things could get you into trouble, but maybe, maybe not. Feeling unsure? stick to Uber…yes cities have Uber here. So get a basic data plan before you come.
I’d really say most of what I just said about Guerrero goes for anyone going to Cancún/Tulúm/Playa del Carmen right now. There is a lot of inter-cartel violence occurring just under the surface there. So, don’t be an idiot and go try scoring drugs from some rando at a bar there. Really, in Playa, I’d avoid big nightclubs in general, unless they are in your hotel.
If you do go to a bar, make sure you know for sure how much your are being charged for drinks before you start drinking. I did run into a situation 20 years ago (before I lived here), where we went to a shady bar, got shafted on the bill and felt threatened. But I think, nowadays, if I had checked out any of the multitude of sites (Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.) they would have told me to avoid that place. But in the end, be prepared to pay whatever when you get in those situations.
And if possible, never let any angry bar thug lead you out of a crowd and into a van — that goes for anywhere on planet Earth.
As far as the LGBT-thing, I can’t say that discrimination and hate crimes do not occur here. A good friend of mine was killed a few years ago, and his case went unsolved, because of discrimination in my opinion.
But there is also a great deal of acceptance to be had. You should see Reforma Avenue right now ahead of the Pride March Saturday, going full rainbow. Last year, half a million people marched. Anyway, I’ll stop, because I have to work.
Bottom line. If you have a chance to come and get to know Mexico, do it, absolutely. If you do, be smart about it. I can tell you that the vast majority of visitors I’ve had come visit over the years have falled in love and wished they didn’t have to leave by the end.
Young
Have ‘fallen’, not ‘falled’. whoops.