of targeted legislation in America, the threat of violence and death at the hands of both local police and armed gangs makes life unbearable for LGBTQ+ individuals living in the Triangle, Meghan López, regional vice president of Latin America for the International Rescue Committee, told Newsweek.López said the prominence of Catholicism and Evangelicalism in the region lend an air of social conservatism in the Northern Triangle, a phenomenon that means coming out about one's identity may lead to ostracism and hate from one's family and community.Those without support systems become easy prey for local gangs, gangs that López prefers to call "non-state armed actors" due to the power and control they exercise over their areas of.