Danny Reyes of Arcoiris: “They continue to kill us, they continue to violate our rights.”

Facebook photo of Melissa Núñez.

The Associated Press reports: “Danny Reyes, a representative of the local Rainbow Movement, told local media there have been 35 crimes against members of the LGBTQ community in Honduras so far this year.”

Reyes says: “They continue to kill us, they continue to violate our rights. We demand that the Honduran government do its best to start ensuring social justice.”

This follows the murder of transgender woman activist Melissa Núñez, 42, on October 18 in the town of Morocelí, in the eastern province of El Paraíso.

Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle shot her to death.

Indyra Mendoza, general coordinator of Cattrachas, a lesbian feminist network based in Tegucigalpa, has noted that Núñez had asked for asylum in the U.S.

The Washington Blade reports the U.S. deported Núñez to Honduras earlier this year.

Reportar Sin Miedo adds: “So far the reasons and those responsible for the violent death of Melissa are unknown, who joins the 434 members of the LGBTI+ population murdered and one disappeared since 2009 in Honduras, of which 131 were trans people, according to the Observatory of Violent Deaths of Cattrachas.”

Núñez is the sixth trans person to be murdered in Honduras this year.

On October 20, the Office in Honduras of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights tweeted: “#OACNUDH calls on the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, exhaustive and impartial investigation with a gender perspective. It recalls the international obligations of the use of specialized investigation protocols for access to justice and reparation.”

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras project has accompanied the Center for LGTBI Development and Cooperation (Somos-CDC) since January 2022 and the Arcoíris LGTB Association of Honduras since July 2015.