Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key.
The American, Canadian, Dutch, German and British embassies in Panama have condemned the brutal attack of a transgender woman that has left her in a coma.
Panamanian media reports indicate Estrella, 27, suffered brain damage and lost 90 percent of her teeth when a man attacked her in Panama City on Aug. 16.
La Prensa, a Panamanian newspaper, on Aug. 18 reported Estrella remains in intensive care at a Panama City hospital and noted her lungs and kidneys are “not functioning.” The newspaper further noted the man who police have charged with the attack had his initial court appearance on Aug. 17.
Estrella’s mother, Aura Pinzón, told Panamá América, another Panamanian newspaper, her daughter moved to Panama City from David, a city in western Panama that is the capital of the country’s Chiriquí province, three months ago. Pinzón said doctors have told her they don’t expect Estrella to survive.
“We express our profound pain and our solidarity with Estrella, her loved ones and the trans community,” said the embassies in a statement they released on Aug. 22. “Trans rights are human rights and all of them should all be protected, without exception. The love and sympathy that many Panamanians have showed for Estrella and their determination to put an end to hate and violence encourages us.”
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has also condemned the attack.
Panama does not ban discrimination based on gender identity. The State Department’s 2022 human rights report notes “societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which often led to denial of employment opportunities.”
“Civil society groups alleged continued police harassment of LGBTQI+ individuals as well as high levels of violence against transgender persons,” notes the report. “Transgender activists alleged that a small number of police extorted transgender sex workers.”
Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad, last September visited Panama.
First lady Jill Biden in May 2022 visited a Panama City shelter for people with HIV/AIDS. She announced the U.S. will provide an additional $80.9 million to fight the pandemic in Latin America.
Pope Francis visited the same shelter in 2019.
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