Mexico's First Openly Nonbinary Magistrate Found Dead, Sparking Protests

Jesús Ociel Baena's Death Suspected as Hate Crime Amid Rejection of Murder-Suicide Theory

Jesús Ociel Baena, Mexico's first openly nonbinary magistrate and a prominent LGBTQ+ activist, was found dead in their home in Aguascalientes, Mexico, alongside their partner.
Baena and their partner had previously received death threats and had state protection, leading many to label their death a hate crime.
Local prosecutors have suggested the incident may have been a murder-suicide, but this hypothesis has been widely rejected by Mexico's LGBTQ+ community.
Baena was a trailblazer in Latin America for their work for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and their death has sparked protests and calls for a thorough investigation across the region.
Mexico has a high rate of violent hate crimes against sexual minorities, with the National Observatory of Hate Crimes Against LGBTI+ Persons in Mexico documenting over 305 such crimes between 2019 and 2022.