9 Aug 2025 Zapotlán el Grande, Jalisco (Mexico) Murdered
TDoR list ref: tgeu/tdor2025/9-Aug-2025/Katia Daniela Medina Rafael Katia Daniela Medina [photo: www.milenio.com]
Katia was the director of the Zapotlán Trans Collective and a well known human rights defender. Her body was found with signs of violence on a dirt road.
This weekend, the body of a person was found dead in a dirt road north of the municipality of Zapotlán el Grande, with signs of violence.
Municipal President Magali Casillas confirmed that the victim was Katia Daniela Medina Rafael, a trans woman, director of the Zapotlán Trans Collective and a renowned defender of trans rights in the region.
The incident occurred in the gap that connects the freeway to the Catarina intersection in Ciudad Guzmán, where personnel from the Jalisco Regional Prosecutor's Office responded to the investigation. Experts from the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences also attended, transporting the body to the Semefo (Forensic Medical Service) facilities for legal review.
On social media, the mayor lamented the way some local media outlets have reported on this case, referring to Katia Daniela as a "man dressed as a woman," which, she said, represents "a grave lack of respect for her identity and dignity, as well as for the human rights principles that should govern all reporting."
The mayor added that the identity of the deceased must be recognized and respected at all times as a trans woman, while demanding that the competent authorities investigate and classify this case from a gender and sexual diversity perspective, treating it as a femicide.
