US flight attendant death highlights LGBTQ+ violence in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia – After days of searching for missing American Airlines flight attendant Eric Gutiérrez, Colombian authorities discovered his body in a river in Antioquia province on Friday, several hours away from where he was last seen near Medellín. While the coroner’s office has not issued an official cause of death, it quickly concluded Gutiérrez, a U.S.-citizen, had not died of natural means; officials are reportedly working on the hypothesis that Gutierrez’s death was a robbery gone wrong, likely involving the incapacitating drug scopolamine. Advocacy groups say the murder of Gutiérrez – a gay man – is part of a pattern of violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community in Colombia, while officials offer reassurances to travellers, saying these crimes are rare and could happen to anyone. What happened to Eric Gutiérrez? Gutiérrez, 32, arrived in Colombia on March 22 after working on a flight from Miami to Medellín. He reportedly went to the Perro Negro nightclub in the El Poblado neighborhood of the city with his colleagues, where they met two men. Gutiérrez and his colleague then went with the men to Itagüí, a city on the outskirts of Medellín. The flight attendant’s co-worker returned to their hotel the next day alone, feeling disoriented. He was admitted to hospital with suspected scopolamine poisoning. Law enforcement began searching for Gutiérrez, but did not find his body until Friday, located in the Piedras River near the town of Jericó, a roughly three-hour drive from Medellín. Authorities have also begun to share details of criminal investigations, saying they have found evidence linking the case to criminal rings known to use scopolamine to rob people. Scopolamine is commonly used by thieves in Colombia to incapacitate victims in order to access their bank accounts and steal their possessions. ‘Pattern of violence’ Gutiérrez’s death reveals a broader trend of violence against gay men, according to Caribe Afirmativo, a Colombia-based LGBTQ+ rights observatory. “This latest death should not be viewed as an isolated incident,” read a statement by the organization released a day after the flight attendant’s body was found. “On the contrary, it is yet another sign—serious, painful, and deeply alarming—of a pattern of violence that continues to take hold in Antioquia and that now demands a forceful response from the Colombian government,” it continued. Caribe Afirmativo said that Gutiérrez’s murder marked the 23rd killing of an LGBTQ+ person in Colombia this year, noting “a large proportion of the cases” had occurred in Antioquia. “What has happened cannot be dismissed as a mere coincidence or an individual risk. We are facing a systematic form of urban violence that combines organized crime, substance abuse, and contexts of vulnerability,” continued the statement. In April last year, Italian biologist Alessandro Coatti was found dead in Santa Marta. Authorities later discovered he had been lured into a robbery by a man on the gay dating app Grindr and was likely drugged with scopolamine. The observatory called for “urgent” action by authorities, including information campaigns warning the public of the risks of scopolamine and robberies in the nighttime economy. Authorities reassure LGBTQ+ travellers Despite suggestions of a pattern of violence against LGBTQ+ people in Colombia, authorities in Medellin insist that LGBTQ+ travellers do not face a heightened risk. “We have no evidence of a systematic trend of crime targeting exclusively LGBTQ+ travelers,” Manuel Villa Mejía, Medellín’s Secretary of Security, told Latin America Reports. He maintained that the risks to travellers are the same, regardless of sexual orientation, and highlighted broader patterns in how tourists are targeted, including “the use of social media, dating apps, or fake offers of companionship to commit theft or extortion.” Villa Mejía called on all tourists, regardless of who they are, to exercise caution and stay aware of their surroundings. He also offered reassurances to travellers: “In Medellin we protect all people equally and our priority is to guarantee the security of all visitors, without distinction.” Featured image description: Missing poster for Eric Gutierrez Image credit: Alcaldía de Medellín