Trans TV host shot and killed in Honduras
Santiago Carvajal was a popular TV personality in Honduras (Santiago Carvajal/Facebook)
A popular transgender TV presenter, Santiago Carvajal, has died in hospital after being shot in the Honduran city of Puerto Cortés on Friday (July 5).
Carvajal presented “La Galaxia de Santi”, a critically-acclaimed show dedicated to criticising local authorities. As a member of a LGBT+ collective in Honduras, she often presented reports on the Central American country’s LGBT+ community.
According to local news, Carvajal was heading towards a local television channel in Puerto Cortés when witnesses saw her being shot several times by a group of strangers. She was initially taken to a local hospital but was later transferred to the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital due to the severity of her injuries.
Doctors performed surgery in an attempt to stabilise her but were unable to save her life, and she was pronounced dead on Saturday (July 6).
On Monday (July 8) her relatives released a video demanding for justice.
Police have launched an investigation into Carvajal’s death. (Santiago Carvajal/Facebook)
The 78th murder of a media personality in Honduras
Carvajal’s death makes her the 78th media personality to be murdered in Honduras since 2001. 92 percent of those deaths are still unpunished, according to the National Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (CONADEH).
Honduras is ranked 141st in the world press freedom ranking of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Police say they are investigating the attack but have no leads; however Planet Transgender reports that Carvajal told friends she was threatened the day before her murder.
Dozens of fans left messages of love on La Galaxia de Santi’s Facebook page. “Fly, fly high Santi and keep shining from the sky” one user wrote.
Another added: “Our city has lost one of its most talented children, Puerto Cortés is in mourning. Let’s hope that those responsible will fall all the weight of the law.”
Another wrote that Carvajal was “someone who no matter the situations that passed always came out with a smile… no matter [what their] gender was, which showed [their] value even in the midst of the mockery.”
