The suspect is brutal in brutal killing of the trans woman who was thrown into a stream in Colombia

The Colombian police arrested a suspect on Wednesday in the brutal murder of a transgender woman who was thrown into a stream with broken limbs in a hate crime, which triggered protests in the South American country.

The 32 -year -old Sara Milley died in the hospital after being pulled out of the stream by firefighters, but not before spectators filmed a video about her drowned and spread it online.

The attack, which took place in Bello near the western city of Medellin in the Antoquia department, has led to an outfit of shock and anger and fear in the trans community.

Sandra Borja, Sara's mother, said El Pais that she was with her daughter in her last moments.

“I knelt down and hugged her and told her that I loved her very much,” she told the newspaper. “I told her that she would be with God because nobody in heaven would humiliate or discriminate because she was.”

The police said on Wednesday that she arrested a first suspect, a member of a gang who is now suspended for torture and severe murder, and risks of 70 years in prison.

President Gustavo Petro condemned the crime he said by “ignorant people” who tried to “extinguish” the differences between individuals.

The ombudsman's office in Colombia said 13 trans women had been murdered in the country this year. However, the Washington office for Latin America, citing data from the NGO -Karibitivo, reported that more than 24 LGBTQ+ people in Colombia were previously murdered in Colombia.

“This number is an underpayment because many LGBTQ+ cases are not called such,” said the organization.

The official number 31 was in 2024.

The ombudsman's office also reported 258 cases of violence against members of the LGBTQI+ community last year – an increase of 23 % compared to 2023.

According to Caribe Afirmativo, Antioquia, the birthplace of the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar, has increased.

Hass crimes in the region “represent almost half of the national total,” she reported.

The congress discusses a draft law that tries to strengthen the rights of transgender people and to tighten the hate crimes committed against them.