Gay Man Brutally Killed After Disclosing His HIV Status

Police in Mexico have arrested the man they say brutally tortured, killed, then burned the body of a Cancun man who had just revealed he was living with HIV.

The suspect, identified only as Isidoro G., was the victim's next-door neighbor and tenant, and the two had earlier lived together in the victim's home in Cancun. The suspect was arrested in the state of Tabasco and reportedly has a valid warrant for his arrest in connection with a separate murder committed in the state of Guanajuato.

In a statement posted to Twitter announcing the arrest, Oscar Montes de Oca Rosales, the attorney general for the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, said the victim died of "a blow to the head caused by a short blunt object" and that after his death the killer "produced multiple burns on the body surface." The victim also had multiple stab wounds across his body.

Isidoro G. allegedly fled the scene after the murder, but was arrested a short time later in Tabasco.

Edwin Reyes, a representative of the LGBTQ+ support group Resilientxs, told Out via email the victim was at a party in Cancun last month when he revealed he was living with HIV. Reyes says the response was swift and violent.

"He was brutally beaten and postmortem had multiple burns on his body," Reyes tells Out. "His father discovered his body and notified authorities of the unfortunate event."

Despite the heinous nature of the crime, the Office of the General Inspector in Cancun said they were not investigating the case as hate crime because such hate crimes are not covered in the state's criminal codes. It's something Reyes said activists are trying to change.

"Resilientxs along with other groups have demanded the classification of hate crimes, which has already advance and the initiative is soon to be voted on in Congress," Reyes explains to Out.

While the local community was relieved to learn of the arrests, Reyes pointed out the senseless and preventable nature of the crime.

"This cruel case should not have happened," Reyes said in an interview with Presentes.

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