A gay couple were handcuffed by armed police “for kissing” on a beach in Mexico.
A series of videos of the incident, posted to Facebook, appear to show police ushering the couple into the back of a vehicle as a crowd of fellow beachgoers chant “I’m gay too” in solidarity.
The two men are then released to cheers from the crowd gathered on the beach in Tulum, Quintana Roo, on Mexico’s east coast.
According to Maritza Escalante Morales, who shared multiple videos of the incident, police told onlookers that the couple were being arrested because they “had kissed” and that “there are families and children about and they can’t be watching this”.
The two young men, who speak in both Spanish and English to police, were holidaying in Mexico when they were arrested . One of them can be heard saying “what the f***?” to the camera as he gestures to his handcuffs.
The men were released “within minutes”, Morales says, as beachgoers argued with police, insisting that the couple weren’t committing a crime.
Discriminating against LGBT+ people was outlawed in Mexico in 2003.
According to LGBTQ Nation, Quintana Roo Police issued a statement claiming that the men were arrested for “immoral acts and sexual erotic demonstrations, on the road or public places”.
The Independent has contacted the police department for comment.
