Michelle Ramos Vargas, a 33-year-old transgender woman, was murdered on 30 September. The body of Vargas was found with several gunshots wounds in San Germán, Puerto Rico.
Vargas was in the middle of studying to become a nurse at Ponce Paramedical College. She is the third transgender casualty in less than two weeks after Aerrion Burnett and Mia Green, who were both transgender women of colour, and the 30th known trans murder in the United States this year.
The HRC (Human Rights Campaign) have been tracking murders within the trans community since 2013, and said they have “never seen such a high number at this point in the year.” “This level of violence — any level of violence — is unacceptable,” said Director of Community Engagement for