![[left] Aerial view of Jet Set nightclub after roof collapse. [right] Rubby Perez doing a live performance there. Thumbnail done on Canva.](https://dmhsherald.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/HH-Thumnail-38-1200x777.png)
April 4, 2025
On April 4, 2025, Sara Millerey González, a 32-year-old trans woman and activist living in Bello, Colombia, was violently killed.
Local reports say she was sexually assaulted on April 4, and her legs and arms were broken before she was thrown into the La García stream, located in Valdivia, Antioquia.
Neighbors and people nearby began filming and sharing clips of her struggling in the water the following days. According to authorities, Sara Millerey was rescued from the water by firefighters and police and transported to the nearest hospital, however, she died due to her injuries the next day on April 5.
On his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, president Gustavo Petro described Millerey’s violent murder as “fascism”.
“I’m criticized for speaking about Nazism. I know perfectly well that fascism is the violent elimination of human differences: political, religious, ethnic, sexual freedom. What happened in Bello is called fascism, because there are Nazis in Colombia.” – President Gustavo Petro.
Lorena González Ospina, mayor of Bello, said on social media she was raising her voice to “strongly condemn the murder of Sara Millerey,” describing the murder as a “horrific, hate-filled act.” She captioned her Instagram posts about the murder with the hashtag ‘#JusticiaParaSaraMillerey’ (#JusticeforSaraMillerey).
“Sara was brutally attacked, her arms and legs were broken, and her body was thrown into the river. And it is deeply painful to think this happened amid the indifference of so many. We cannot allow transphobia to keep taking lives in silence. We, as a city and as a local government, have a responsibility to the LGBTIQ+ community. And today, from the bottom of my heart, I say we cannot remain silent. We will demand justice for Sara, and we will continue working toward a city where all lives are treated with dignity and respect. Transphobia kills. No more indifference, and no more silence.” – Lorena González Ospina, mayor of Bello.
A reward of 50 million Colombian pesos ($11,600) is being offered to anyone who can bring forward information that leads to the capture of those responsible for the murder.
“As soon as we learned of the events surrounding Sara’s murder, we activated a special action plan together with the National Police to address this case with urgency. We have already informed the Prosecutor’s Office about this horrific crime and are gathering all the necessary evidence to formally hand over and move the investigation forward. I call on the relevant authorities to act as swiftly as possible. Sara deserves justice. This cannot be another case that goes unpunished. We will not rest until there is justice.” – Ospina said in a separate video posted to Instagram.
In a statement, LGBTQ+ organisation Caribe Afirmativo said Sara Millerey’s murder was not an isolated incident but “a symptom.”
“A mirror. A cry that no one wants to hear. This isn’t just a crime. It’s a sick reflection of a society that has lost its soul. It’s the face of a country that allows its trans daughters to die in front of everyone and no one does anything. Because it’s not just about the atrocious act itself, but about everything that surrounds it: the silence, the indifference, the systematic neglect. What was done to Sara didn’t begin the day of her murder. It began when she was denied decent employment. When she was treated as an object of ridicule on the street. When she wasn’t recognized as a woman in an institution. When she had to defend her existence, day after day, with no one to defend her. The murder was just the end of a constant violence.
Let anger mobilize us.
It should make us uncomfortable. It should ache in our guts. It should fill us with rage. But not a blind rage, but one that organizes, mobilizes, and transforms. Because pronouncements are no longer enough. Minutes of silence are no longer enough. We need a political, ethical, and collective response. One that requires a demand for justice, but also a profound transformation of the social fabric. That’s why we insist: it’s not enough to be outraged once a year. It’s not enough to share a hashtag. We need a politics of life, of active mourning, of trans justice. We need to talk, name them, remember them, defend them. But we still have time to do something now. So that their deaths are not in vain. So that we stop normalizing the horror. So that we stop counting our dead as if they were numbers without names or history. Time to remember. Time to transform fury into action. Time to not let oblivion win again.
May this time, at least this time, history does not repeat itself in silence. Justice for Sara Millerey González. Justice for all.” – Caribe Afirmativo.
4 days after Millerey’s death, on April 9, there was a vigil held for her full of candles and protests.
As of this year alone, Millerey’s violent death and hate crime was the 25th queer killing in Colombia.
After reading about the violent murder of Sara Millerey, will you spread the hashtag as well? Will you choose to advocate for others who are being discriminated against in any way? Will you hold people accountable whenever you witness transphobia, homophobia, racism, misogyny, or any other form of hate against oppressed communities? Thank you for following along, and do not forget to click the comment button on the right-hand side to share your opinions and critiques on this important issue. Tune in for more articles.
Rest in power, Sara Millerey, and the other 24 victims. #JusticiaParaSaraMillerey #JusticeforSaraMillerey
Sources:
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- https://www.gscene.com/news/transgender-news/graphic-content-warning-colombia-outraged-by-brutal-murder-of-trans-woman-sara-millerey-gonzalez/
- https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/09/sara-millerey-trans-killing-colombia-lgbtq/
- https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/11/sara-millerey-vigil-trans-colombia/
- https://caribeafirmativo.lgbt/
