Fortuño Indicates Support for LGBT-Inclusive Hate Crimes Law

Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño indicated to reporters on Friday, Dec. 9, that he supports the island’s current hate crimes law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

The governor answered questions about the proposed changes to Puerto Rico’s penal code during a press conference at the Executive Mansion in San Juan.

“We hope he sticks to his word and uses his leadership to ensure those provisions remain in the penal code—and not only maintains those provisions, but orders his administration to enforce them,” said Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Singer Ricky Martin, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez are among those who have publicly spoken out against a proposed provision that the Puerto Rico Senate approved last month that would eliminate sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion and ethnicity from the island’s hate crimes law. More than 14,000 people have signed a petition that Jorge Sepulveda posted to Change.org earlier this week that urges Puerto Rican lawmakers to reject the measure.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives is not expected to vote on the revised penal code during the special legislative session, but Fortuño said he hopes lawmakers will approve it sometime in early January.

Human Rights Campaign Again Blasts Proposal to Remove LGBTs from Puerto Rico Hate Crimes Law

The country's largest LGBT rights organization has once again blasted a proposed provision of Puerto Rico's new penal code that would eliminate sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and other categories from the island's hate crimes law.

“It would be unconscionable for Puerto Rico’s leaders to remove sexual orientation and gender identity from existing hate crime protections,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “This sends the dangerous message that it is acceptable to harass or harm LGBT people and would leave victims of hate crimes with no legal recourse. I urge Puerto Rico’s lawmakers not only to reject this homophobic legislation, but to push more aggressively to protect the well-being of LGBT Puerto Ricans.”

Singer Ricky Martin, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez are among those who have publicly spoken out against the proposed provision. Jorge Sepulveda posted a petition to Change.org late on Wednesday, Dec. 7, that urges Puerto Rican lawmakers to reject the measure.

"It is ironic that in the same week, we see President Obama and Hillary Clinton going to international groups and telling them to pass more laws to protect minorities, then in Puerto Rico you see the government doing the exact opposite," he told Boy in Bushwick earlier on Thursday, Dec. 8. "It’s shameful to see that."

Puerto Rico lawmakers are poised to debate the proposed provision when they consider the revised penal code during a special legislative session this week. Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz criticized House Judiciary Committee President Liza Fernández’s criticism of the proposed amended hate crimes law in an interview with Vocero on Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Gutierrez urged Attorney General Eric Holder earlier on Thursday that he create a federal task force to investigate and prosecute hate crimes on the island. The U.S. Department of Justice cited the Puerto Rico Police Department's inadequate response to hate crimes as one of the PRPD's endemic deficiencies in a scathing report it issued in September. The Puerto Rico Department of Justice's own statistics indicate that prosecutors have not convicted anyone under the island's hate crimes law.

"If Puerto Rico doesn't want to protect its residents from attacks, violence and murder, then the federal authorities need to step in and ensure the most basic rights of life and liberty are protected," wrote Gutierrez.

Puerto Rico House to Review Proposal to Remove LGBTs from Hate Crimes Law

Puerto Rico House of Representatives President Jenniffer González announced on Monday, Dec. 5, that she would review a proposed provision to the penal code that would remove sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and ethnic ethnicity from the island’s hate crimes law.

“I have been very consistent about hate crimes,” she said, according to Primera Hora. “I have presented special laws against hate crimes that are there, so I am on the record about this topic.”

González’s announcement coincided with House Judiciary Committee President Liza Fernández’s criticism of the proposed amendment that the Puerto Rico Senate approved late last month.

“For me, it was an error to eliminate these factors from the code,” she said, as el Nuevo Día reported on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and other activists and elected officials blasted the proposed provision. New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer urged lawmakers to reject the measure in a joint statement they issued late on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

“When we take into account the horrific hate crimes that have occurred in recent years, this decision is even more egregious and nonsensical," said Mark-Viverito, who was born in San Juan. "The Puerto Rican government is creating a dangerous environment for those who have been and potentially could be attacked or even killed solely on the basis of their identity without any additional penalties for the perpetrators. This strategy to de-classify hate violence directed against LGBT Puerto Ricans and ethnic groups as a separate crime cannot stand."

Nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered on the island since gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body was found along a remote roadside near Cayey in 2009. With more than 1,000 reported homicides so far this year, 2011 has already proven to be the deadliest year in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Department of Justice noted the Puerto Rico Police Department’s inadequate response to hate crimes as among the PRPD’s endemic deficiencies in a damning report it released in September. A federal DOJ spokesperson on Monday declined to comment on the proposed hate crimes provision, but the Puerto Rico Department of Justice’s own statistics confirm that prosecutors have not convicted anyone under the island’s hate crimes law.

Singer Ricky Martin added his voice to the growing chorus of those who oppose the proposed provision.

“All citizens are equal under the law and have, without exception, the right to equal protection under the law,” he wrote on his website, citing the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The House is expected to vote on the revised penal code later this week during a special legislative session.

Puerto Rico Lawmakers Move to Remove LGBTs from Hate Crimes Law

Puerto Rican lawmakers are poised to vote on a revised penal code this week that could eliminate LGBT-specific categories from the island’s hate crimes law.

The Puerto Rico Senate late last month approved a provision that would eliminate sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity and religion from the current statute—political status, age and disability would remain. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the amended penal code during a special legislative session.

Representative Héctor Ferrer, Sen. Eduardo Bhatia and LGBT and Dominican activists blasted the proposed provisions earlier on Sunday, Dec. 4.

“It’s an outrage and now we’re calling upon the House to restore this to where it should be,” said Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered on the island since gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado was stabbed to death before his decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body was found along a remote roadside near Cayey in Nov. 2009. The Justice Department noted a lack of prosecution under the island's hate crimes law in damning report on the Puerto Rico Police Department it issued in September.

Has Anything Changed in Puerto Rico Since Jorge Steven's Murder?

Today marks the second anniversary of Puerto Rican gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado’s brutal murder.

Juan José Martínez Matos stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death on Nov. 13, 2009, before he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned his body. López’s remains were found dumped along a remote roadside near Cayey the next day.

López’s gruesome murder sent shockwaves across Puerto Rico and beyond—singers Ricky Martin, Olga Tañon and René Péréz of Calle 13 and former Miss Universe Denise Quiñones were among those who publicly spoke out against anti-LGBT violence on the island. Human Rights Foundation President Ada Conde Vidal, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito and Rosie Mendez and Illinois state Sen. Iris Martínez are among those who repeatedly blasted Gov. Luís Fortuño for his failure to follow suit.

Has anything changed in Puerto Rico since López’s death?

Martínez received a 99-year prison sentence in May 2010 after he pleaded guilty to López’s murder, but nearly two dozen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been killed since the gay teenager’s gruesome death. The Justice Department noted the Puerto Rico Police Department's inadequate response to hate crimes as among the agencies' numerous failures in a damning report it released in September. Fortuño and other officials have yet to publicly speak out against these incidents.

The situation for LGBT Puerto Ricans remains dire two years after López’s death stunned the world. On this grim anniversary, however, it is appropriate to remember a grieving mother’s words that sought to comfort a community during one of its darkest hours: Love conquers hate.

Transgender Woman Found Murdered in East Harlem Apartment

Spending the summer on Fire Island can certainly insulate one from the outside world, but news of another transgender person's death provides an all too sobering reminder of the reality that LGBT people continue to confront.

Camila Guzman was found brutally murdered in her East Harlem apartment on Monday, Aug. 1, but news of the trans woman’s death comes less than two weeks after Lashai Mclean was shot to death on a Washington, D.C., street. Another trans woman was shot on July 31 a block away from where Mclean was gunned down.

Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar was found strangled to death in her Queens apartment in March 2010. Karlota Gómez Sanchez is among the 18 LGBT Puerto Ricans who have been killed over the last year and a half.

A report that the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Project issued last month found that 70 percent of known victims of anti-LGBT violence in 2010 were people of color. Forty-four percent of them were trans women.

"Camila Guzman's murder and the series of violent attacks against transgender women of color in Washington, D.C., highlight the disproportionate impact of severe anti-LGBT violence on transgender people of color," said Ejeris Dixon of the New York City Anti-Violence Project in a statement that her organization, the Audre Lorde Project, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released on Thursday, Aug. 4. "These murders are a wake-up call for all organizations that work to end hate violence. We must work collaboratively to create specific strategies to prevent violence against transgender people of color and to ensure that survivors receive the support they need."

As I have previously reported, there is no easy solution to reducing these disproportionate rates of violence. There is a collective responsibility, however, to ensure LGBT people can safely live their lives with dignity and respect.

¡Wepa!

Boricua pride was on full display in Bushwick and throughout the five boroughs on Sunday, June 12, as roughly two million Nuyoricans turned out for the 54th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade.

At the same time revelers lined Fifth Avenue, more than 22,000 people lined the streets of Boquerón for the city’s ninth annual gay Pride parade. As I have previously reported on the EDGE Media Network, this year’s festivities come less than a week after three LGBT Puerto Ricans were found dead. Eighteen LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered over the last year and a half.

Below is a clip from el Nuevo Día of Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force speaking in Boquerón yesterday afternoon. “Enough hate, enough homophobia,” he said. “We are Puerto Ricans.”

RIP Jorge Steven

Today marks the first anniversary of the brutal murder of gay Puerto Rican teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado.

Juan José Martínez Matos stabbed López to death on Nov. 13, 2009, before he dumped the teenager’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey.

López’s mother, Myriam Mercado, told me in June “with a crime so atrocious, it is important people unite in their pain.” Her strength—and especially the unconditional love she continues to show for her son—remain an inspiration to everyone who has met her over the last year. It must be said, however, 12 LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered since López’s brutal death.

Recent events in New York City and around the country prove anti-LGBT hate crimes remain a serious problem. And on this grim anniversary, it remains imperative that everyone step up and say enough is enough.

More than winning a verdict

As I look forward to another weekend on Fire Island, I would be completely remiss to not acknowledge a Puerto Rican family continues to grieve the loss of their beloved son.

Juan José Martínez Matos confessed on Wednesday he stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death before he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned the gay teenager's body on Nov. 13, 2009. Judge Miriam Camila Jusino immediately sentenced him to 99 years in prison, but López's mother, Myriam Mercado, told reporters outside the Caguas courtroom Martínez's confession was bittersweet for her and her family.

"We are able to find a bit of peace in this aspect, but it's not going to return Steven to us," said an emotional Mercado as her husband, Jorge López, activist Pedro Julio Serrano and prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo stood by her side. "But at least there is justice in Puerto Rico."

Back here in Brooklyn, José Sucuzhañay's family continues to seek justice after one jury acquitted Hakim Scott of hate crimes charges and a judge declared a mistrial after a second panel could not render a verdict against Keith Phoenix. Prosecutors are scheduled to retry Phoenix on June 15, but both the Sucuzhañay and López cases clearly demonstrate the tragic and entirely unnecessary toll hate crimes can have on families and the communities in which they live and of which they are a part.

"This case dominates a lot of people in these communities and highlights the need to do so much more than to win a verdict," Ana María Archila, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, told me earlier this week.

Indeed.

Transgender woman found stabbed to death in Puerto Rico home

Something is clearly not right in Puerto Rico...


Transgender woman stabbed to death in Puerto Rico home
EDGE Media Network
April 20, 2010

A transgender woman was found stabbed to death in her home outside San Juan on Monday, April 19.

Primera Hora reported authorities discovered Ashley Santiago's naked body in the kitchen of her house in Corozal, which is roughly 25 miles southwest of the Puerto Rican capital. Santiago, 31, was a popular hair stylist at a local salon.

El Nuevo Día reported Santiago's mother went to a local police station to report she had not heard from her daughter since Sunday, April 18. Police said Santiago had been stabbed 14 times. And El Nuevo Día further reported the victim's 2009 Toyota Corolla was not parked in front of her home.

Santiago's death comes a little more than five months after Jorge Steven López Mercado's brutal murder stunned Puerto Rico.

Prosecutors contend Juan A. Martínez Matos decapitated, dismembered and partially burned the gay teenager's body before dumping it along a remote roadside near Cayey on Nov. 13, 2009. As EDGE reported on Friday, April 16, Martínez's trial is scheduled to begin in Caguas on May 3.

Puerto Rico's hate crime law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The statutes took effect in 2002, but prosecutors rarely apply it.

Investigators have yet to determine whether Santiago's killer (or killers) murdered her because of her gender identity or expression, but Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force urged authorities to investigate her death as a possible hate crime.

"The authorities have a legal obligation to investigate this hate angle," he told EDGE in a statement. "We urge the police and the prosecutor to appropriately investigate this murder; to determine whether it was motivated by prejudice and if there is enough evidence to classify it as a hate crime at this moment."

Gay Puerto Rican teenager's alleged killer returns to court on Wednesday

As the man who allegedly murdered Jorge Steven López Mercado prepares to return to court on Wednesday, April 14, one question I hope to investigate is whether the public outcry over the gay teenager's brutal death has translated into any tangible changes on the ground in Puerto Rico.

Thousands of people paid tribute to López in vigils held across the United States in the days after authorities found his decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside near Cayey on Nov. 13, 2009. More than 1,000 Puerto Ricans marched through San Juan to demand an end to hate crimes. And New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other elected officials have repeatedly blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño's failure to publicly respond to López's murder.

López's alleged killer's trial is scheduled to start next month. And while the gay teenager's brutal murder sparked widespread outrage among LGBT activists, it remains to be seen whether anything tangible has changed since Nov. 13, 2009.

Ricky Martin's coming out resonates outside the United States

My story on how Ricky Martin's coming out could prove a watershed moment for LGBT Latinos has already received nearly 11,000 hits on the EDGE network, but here's the story for those who may want to read it.


Ricky Martin's coming out could prove a "watershed moment" for LGBT Puerto Ricans
EDGE on the Net
March 30, 2010

Even though Ricky Martin’s sexual orientation was not a very well-kept secret, his decision to come out could prove to be a watershed moment for LGBT Puerto Ricans.

Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s described yesterday’s announcement as "a glorious day for the Puerto Rican LGBT communities."

"He is the biggest star from Latin America and from Puerto Rico to come out; it’s a huge deal," he told EDGE. "It is a watershed moment."

Jarrett T. Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, agreed.

"His decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in the [United States,] in Latin America and worldwide," he said.

Puerto Rican newspapers and other media outlets quickly posted stories to their Web sites once Martin came out on his Web site on Monday, March 29. El Nuevo Día proclaimed "Ricky Martin confesses his homosexuality," while Primera Hora announced "Ricky Martin accepts his homosexuality." Both publications posted a series of reactions from celebrities and others around the world to the news. And Nuevo Dia interviewed Martin’s brother.

"He is my brother, if he is happy, I will also be happy," Eric Martin said.

Not everyone shared the younger Martin’s acceptance.

"Widelia" commented under a Primera Hora story people "would not be talking so much about this" if "homosexuality were normal." "Eduardo" questioned why Martin’s coming out has received so much attention, but other Primera Hora readers applauded his decision.

"Ricky Martin will be the same Ricky Martin to me, homosexual or not," "Smoochy" wrote. "This does not change the fact he is a good person and always has been. I applaud (his decision) to declare (his homosexuality) publicly, for his personal satisfaction in the moment in which he decided to do it."

Singer Alejandro Sanz, Daddy Yankee, blogger Perez Hilton, Juanes, journalist María Celeste Arrarás and other celebrities quickly praised Martin’s decision.

"One more time, Ricky Martin is an example of bravery, courage and determination," Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañón said in a statement posted on Primera Hora’s Web site.

Martin described himself as a human rights activist in an op-ed Nuevo Día published in December in response to gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado’s brutal murder. He made no mention of his own sexual orientation, but Serrano told EDGE he hopes Martin will use his celebrity to advance LGBT rights in his homeland.

"But for today, we celebrate that Ricky is one of us."

Judge sets trial date for gay Puerto Rican teenager’s alleged killer

Just posted this story to EDGE...


A Puerto Rican judge has found probable cause to prosecute a man who prosecutors contend brutally murdered a gay teenager last November.

Judge Roberto Anglero announced earlier today Juan José Martínez Matos’ trial will begin in Caguas on March 30. He denied a defense motion to lessen one of the charges against Martínez to second degree murder.

Prosecutors contend Martínez, who faces a first degree murder and three weapons charges, stabbed Jorge Steven López Mercado to death on Nov. 12, 2009. They further allege the suspect decapitated, dismembered and partially burned López’s body before he dumped it along a remote roadside near Cayey.

Several of López’s friends and acquaintances have identified Martínez as the man with whom they last saw the teenager as EDGE reported on Feb. 6. Details of López’s reported drug use and prostitution emerged during the preliminary hearing, but Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s applauded prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo’s handling of this case.

"She sent a very powerful message not to judge Jorge Steven; the person who should be judged is Juan Martínez Matos," he said.

Serrano also spoke with López’s family immediately after Anglero set the trial date.

"They’re satisfied, but as they just told me, nothing will bring Jorge Steven back," he said. "It’s a very emotional day for them because they are starting to see the beginning of justice, but the pain of losing a son-and losing a son in these circumstances is unbearable."

Preliminary hearing for gay Puerto Rican teenager's alleged killer continues

As the preliminary hearing of the man who allegedly decapitated and dismembered Jorge Steven López Mercado continues in a Puerto Rico court room, details about the murdered teenager's life continue to emerge.

David José Medina Quiñones told the court on Tuesday he and López went to a Caguas street to prostitute themselves in the hours before Juan José Martínez Matos allegedly murdered the gay teenager. Martínez reportedly said he killed López after he discovered he was a man. And his lawyers tried to insinuate in court yesterday the teenager had agreed to have sex in exchange for drugs. There is obviously nothing that can ever justify this horrendous murder, and Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s made this point explicitly clear in a blog he posted earlier this morning.

“We cannot allow anyone to indict a victim who is no longer alive and can no longer defend himself,” he wrote. “We cannot forget there was a criminal who committed this hate crime: Juan Martínez Matos.”

Irregardless of whether López prostituted himself or took drugs, the fact remains a brutal crime took place. His family and friends have suffered a tremendous and entirely unnecessary loss. And they deserve nothing less than full justice under the law.

Delegation of activists and politicians meet with murdered gay Puerto Rican teenager's family

A delegation of activists and legislators from Chicago and New York City met with murdered gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado's family earlier today in San Juan.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Illinois state Sen. Iris Martinez, who chairs the Democratic National Committee's Hispanic Caucus, Cary Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Pedro Julio Serrano were among those who traveled to Puerto Rico. They also met with fellow activists, legislators and religious leaders earlier in the day.

Quinn, who announced the trip at a fundraiser for López's family on the Lower East Side last Tuesday night, posted pictures of today's meetings on her Twitter page. And at a press conference earlier today, she, fellow Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito and others once again blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño's continued failure to publicly respond to the teenager's brutal murder.

“We in the delegation certainly hope that Governor Fortuño will hear our message loud and clear, that his response to Jorge Steven’s murder has been absolutely unacceptable," Mark-Viverito said in an e-mail. "I am profoundly disappointed in the Governor’s lack of leadership on this matter. We must expect greater accountability and responsibility on the part of our elected officials.”



New York City elected officials pose with Jorge Steven López Mercado's family at a San Juan restaurant. [Photo courtesy of Latino Commission on AIDS]



From left; Karlo Colon, Miriam Mercado, Guillermo Chacon and Jorge López.




New York City Councilmembers meet with Puerto Rican lawmakers and others in San Juan.

New York City Councilmembers to meet with slain gay Puerto Rican teenager's family

On the eve of a hearing to determine whether Jorge Steven López Mercado's accused killer is competent to stand trial, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced she and other lawmakers from the five boroughs and Chicago will meet with the slain gay teenager's family and activists in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Quinn, who announced the trip at a fundraiser for López's family earlier tonight at the Nuyorican Poets Café on the Lower East Side, once again blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño for his continued failure to publicly condemn López's brutal death.

"There are a lot of people who are extremely angry about how the governor has responded to this situation," she said to applause. "There are people in New York, in other cities and in Puerto Rico who are not going to tolerate it. And I assume, though I don't know, that the governor expects that the LGBT community in Puerto Rico might be afraid or nervous or might be... trepidacious about getting involved, but we can do is back that community up and support them."

New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito [D-East Harlem,] Rosie Mendez [D-Lower East Side,] Danny Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] and Jimmy Van Bramer [D-Sunnyside] are among those who will travel to Puerto Rico.

"Never doubt that the support from New York and from the community in New York enhances the struggle in Puerto Rico; we saw this with Vieques and we will do it for justice for Jorge Steven López Mercado."

Quinn further stressed there will be more trips to the island if necessary.

"We hope when we’re there we’ll make it very clear we’ll keep coming back every time we need to," she said.

Ricky Martin speaks out against hate crimes, urges acceptance

Ricky Martin specifically mentioned Jorge Steven López Mercado, murdered Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, Matthew Shepard and other hate crimes victims in an op-ed el Nuevo Dia published earlier today.

The Puerto Rican singer, who has faced consistent questions about his own sexual orientation over the years, said headlines about López's brutal murder near Cayey last month and other recent murders have shaken him.

"The deaths of James Byrd, like that of Matthew Shepard, Jorge Steven López, Marcelo Lucero and Luis Ramírez, like other victims of violent hate crimes, should be unacceptable to all human beings; because we are all human beings," Martin said.

He further wrote he feels mere tolerance of those who are different is simply not enough.

"If we accept each other, humanity will come together," Martin wrote. "And if humanity comes together, equality for human rights will become a reality. If equality for human rights becomes a reality, peace will be within our reach."

Martin is the latest Puerto Rican celebrity who has spoken out against hate crimes since Juan A. Martínez Matos murdered López and dumped his decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body along a remote roadside on Nov. 13. Olga Tañón discussed the case on her weekly talk show earlier this month. And reggaeton artist René Pérez and Miss Universe 2001 Denise Quiñones spoke out against López's murder after they attended a San Juan vigil late last month.

Authorities identify man found murdered in Puerto Rican motel

Puerto Rican authorities have identified the man who was found stabbed to death inside a Ponce motel on Wednesday afternoon.

Officials said Fernando López de Victoria, 35, of Hato Rey, suffered nearly two dozen stab wounds inside Motel Las Colinas in Ponce either late Tuesday, Dec. 15, or Wednesday, Dec. 16. Motel employees said López de Victoria, who worked for Puerto Rico's Department of Housing, checked-in with another man on Tuesday afternoon. The man with whom he arrived at the motel left around 1:30 p.m. the following day.

Meanwhile, Vocero reported Puerto Rican police took a 50-year-old man who is addicted to drugs into custody yesterday afternoon in connection with the murder. The newspaper reported the suspect was seen with López de Victoria on a variety of occasions.

Unidentified man found stabbed to death inside Puerto Rico motel

Puerto Rican authorities continue to investigate the murder of a man inside a Ponce motel.

An unidentified man believed to have been gay was found nude inside a Motel Las Colinas room on Dec. 16. Investigator Richard Nazario told Nuevo Dia the man, who he said was between 40 and 45 years old, had 20 stab wounds on other parts of his body he said were consistent with "a person who tried to defend himself."

Motel employees told investigators two men checked-in Tuesday afternoon, and one of them left around 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 16. Nazario added local authorities have not received any missing person reports. And police continue to look at the motel's surveillance tapes.

This man's death comes roughly a month after Juan A. Martínez Matos allegedly murdered gay teenager. Martínez, known by his nickname Gasper, reportedly confessed he decapitated, dismembered and partially burned López's body before he dumped it alongside a road near Cayey on Nov. 13.

Pedro Julio Serrano of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s urged Puerto Rican authorities to investigate the man's murder as a possible anti-gay hate crime.

"Through the particular circumstances of his arrival at the motel with another man, the brutality of his murder, the hate with which [the second man allegedly] committed it and through clear signs of cruelty, we ask the authorities to investigate the hate angle in this case," he said in a statement released earlier today to Spanish-speaking media.

Olga Tañón discusses homophobia, Jorge Steven López Mercado's murder

Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañón discussed homophobia and Jorge Steven López Mercado's gruesome murder last night on her weekly talk show.

Pedro Julio Serrano was among those who appeared on Hablemos D. The audio is a bit muffled at times, but the entire segment in Spanish is posted below.



The show comes days after Tañón publicly spoke out against homophobia and the gay teenager's gruesome murder last month near Cayey.

"Look, to be gay is nothing bad," she said to Primera Hora as translated from Spanish. "Sexual orientation is nothing bad, and it shouldn’t be used as a reason to castigate or discriminate."