At least twelve members of Ecuador’s LGBTI+ community have been murdered so far in 2026, according to a manifesto released by the advocacy organization Silueta X, which warned of escalating violence and institutional neglect against transgender people in the country. The victims include eleven trans women and one gay man, with activists alleging that the state has failed to properly document or investigate the crimes.
In its declaration, Silueta X accused Ecuadorian authorities of maintaining what it described as “statistical blindness” by not creating an official registry for murders targeting LGBTI+ individuals. The organization stated that neither the National Police, the State Attorney General’s Office, nor the National Institute of Statistics and Census maintains specific data on these killings, a situation activists say prevents accountability and obscures the scale of anti-LGBTI+ violence.
Among the documented victims are Daleska, a 21-year-old trans woman whose body was discovered in the southern province of El Oro near the Peruvian border; Deyran, a 15-year-old trans teenager murdered in the Andean city of Ibarra; and Gisella Granda, 46, who was also found dead in El Oro. The report additionally references the killing of a Venezuelan migrant trans woman in the coastal province of Guayas and the fatal shooting of a trans sex worker in the city of Cuenca. Ten of the twelve cases have already been publicly reported, while two others are still undergoing verification before official disclosure.
Silueta X argued that the overwhelming number of trans women among the victims points to a pattern of structural violence specifically targeting this group. The organization criticized authorities for investigating the cases as ordinary homicides rather than “transfemicides,” a distinction activists say is essential for recognizing hate-based motives and implementing effective public policies to combat such crimes.
The association called on President Daniel Noboa and Ecuador’s National Assembly to formally include the category of “transfemicide” within the country’s Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code. It also urged the Attorney General’s Office to establish specialized investigative units dedicated to hate crimes involving sexual orientation and gender identity.
The manifesto further linked the worsening security situation to Ecuador’s ongoing internal conflict against organized crime. Since President Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” to confront powerful criminal gangs, activists say vulnerable populations, including transgender sex workers and migrants, have faced heightened risks of violence and exploitation.
According to Silueta X, the province of El Oro has become a particularly dangerous area for the LGBTI+ community, with at least five murders recorded there between 2025 and 2026. The organization described the province as a “zone of systematic extermination,” warning that fear and insecurity are spreading among marginalized communities across the country.
