BELIZE CITY, Belize — A gay man was stabbed to death and dumped on the side of a street in Belize City early Sunday morning, and family members are calling it a “hate crime.”
Only later was the victim identified as 18-year-old Joseph Jatnel Sanchez, a gay man who was well known locally to dress in female attire.
Police say their initial investigations revealed that Sanchez was walking alone when two men approached and tried to rob him.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
The robbers stabbed Sanchez with a butcher knife before fleeing, police said. Sanchez was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Sanchez’s family is disputing the police’s theory, and claim Sanchez is a victim of a hate crime and that he was frequently harassed and threatened because he often dressed in women’s clothing.
In an interview with Amandala, family members said that police “theory does not hold water because his cell phone and money were not stolen.”
The victim’s mother, Virginia Thomasa Arzu, said Sanchez got a phone call an hour before he ventured out, from a man her son knew, and suspects her son was lured to an ambush.
Article continues below
“Belize has one of the highest rates of violent crime per capita, but this was not ‘mere’ robbery, except in the sense that he was robbed of his life,” said Shoman.
“A young person was killed and his identity clearly played a role,” she said.
