A distinguished transgender activist in Chile, Claudia Díaz Pérez, was found dead in her home in Cartagena on Sunday, December 11. Chilean authorities are investigating the 73-year-old’s death as a homicide and potential hate crime.

Ricardo Castillo from the Investigations Police of Chile’s Homicide Brigade said that Díaz had head injuries “compatible with the action of third parties”. Castillo continued, saying that her injuries occurred within 24 hours of her body being discovered.

According to Sies Franjas, Claudia Díaz Pérez was the president of the country’s first trans organisation for older people. The name of the organisation, Club de Adultos Mayores Sobrevivientes del 73 (Club for Older Adult Survivors of 73), cites the oppression that took place in the country under the control of General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet led a military coup in Chile in 1973 and ruled the country until 1990.

According to the Advocate, Díaz also led Cartagena Atlético, a sports group, and Sindicato Afrodita (Aphrodite Syndicate), a trans women’s organisation. Supported by Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Woman and Gender Equality Minister Antonia Orellana, Díaz recently took part in an LGBTQ+ Roundtable, to talk about issues that ageing trans people face.

In a social media post, Antonia Orellana denounced the murder, writing “Claudia Diaz, leader @AFRODITAVALPO participated in our #MesaLGTBIQA presenting the problem of trans old age. Yesterday she was found dead. We will join forces to seek justice, from @SernamEGChile or Delegation. We will continue in our work #TransLivesMatter.”

?? Claudia Diaz Pérez, a prominent transgender activist in Chile, was found murdered in her home on Sunday, local authorities said.

?️‍⚧️ While the murder has not yet been labeled a hate crime, local activists believe it was a targeted attack on the outspoken advocate. pic.twitter.com/qxgDI4VAA3

— Openly ?️‍? (@Openly) December 15, 2022

Activist organisation Movilh, (Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation) said that if her death “is proven to be a hate crime, we would be witnessing a 100% increase in homo/transphobic murders in relation to 2021, a worrying and explosive increase that leads us once again to demand that the authorities decisively support the creation of an anti-discriminatory state institution in Chile.”

Javiera Zúñiga, a spokesperson from Movilh, added: “We express our most sincere condolences to all Claudia’s loved ones, and with the same force, we demand that the Public Ministry and the police investigate this murder quickly and with the utmost rigour, to clarify whether or not we are in the presence of a hate crime. Although Claudia may have suffered the theft of some of her belongings, this in no case allows us to rule out a transphobic motive.”

He continued, “We have delivered all the available information on the case to the Ministry of the Interior so that they provide all free legal and psychological advice to Claudia’s loved ones to find the truth of what happened and accompany them in these difficult moments.”