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Mexican primary school teacher murdered in his home because he was gay, claim activists

Hugo Mendez was found with multiple stab wounds in his own home

By Steve Brown

A primary school teacher in Mexico was found murdered in his own home.

Hugo Mendez was an openly gay teacher in San Lorenzo Teotipilco, in the Mexican state of Puebla, and last week, he was found with multiple stab wounds by his neighbours and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mendez was also the choreography leader and costume designer for a group called Cisnes and also dedicated himself to humanitarian efforts and charity work.

According to Spanish outlet Desastre.mx, a friend close to Mendez knew him as a very committed and sensitive person but had received numerous death threats because of his sexual orientation.

Human rights activists claim that the teacher was murdered because he was gay and said: “They did not kill him for being a teacher, or for selling costumes, or for having a dance group.

“They killed him because of his sexual orientation and we are outraged and interested to find out who or who killed him and to the full extent of the law, because he was one of us.”