San Juan, Aug 22 (EFE). – Human rights activist Pedro Julio Serrano asked Puerto Rican authorities on Saturday to investigate the murders of three openly gay young men over the past month on the Caribbean island, and not to dismiss the possible “hate angle” sparked by their sexual orientation.

“With the murder of Edwin Giovanni Vazquez last night, three openly gay men have been killed in one month. This creates a state of alert in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual (LGBTT) community about the possible resurgence of homophobic violence,” Serrano said in a press release.

The Puerto Rican activist recalled that historically, when any progress is seen in respect for the rights of LGBTT people, hate crimes increase.

The spokesman of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, an organization dedicated to defending the rights of the LGBTT community, demanded that the authorities adequately investigate those cases.

Serrano asked Friday for an exhaustive investigation into the death of young university student Jose Ivan Trinidad Cotto under suspicious circumstances in Mayaguez, a municipality on the west coast of the Caribbean island, and whose body was found in the early hours last Wednesday.

The other case is that of hairstylist Miguel A. Rodriguez Fernandez, suspected of being killed by a father and his son in late July, “a case that is already being tried in court,” he said.

The activist said that “in none of these cases can the ‘hate angle’ be dismissed,” since “to do so would be irresponsible and would go against the directives of the U.S. Department of Justice, which requires the investigation of the prejudice angle in cases that involve LGBT people.”

“We have made progress in the matter of rights, but the investigation of these cases still has a long way to go because of the institutionalized homophobia. It is the government’s obligation to eradicate all kinds of discrimination, of which these violent crimes are the worst examples,” he said.

Puerto Rico has permitted same-sex marriages since last July 17, once the 20 days are completed for the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring these unions constitutional becomes final.

The decision was backed last weekend with a massive wedding of same-sex couples in the Puerto Rican capital. EFE