News
Paraguayan police clash with LGBT advocates
At least 10 injured during protest ahead of OAS meeting


Paraguayan police on Monday clashed with LGBT rights advocates who protested in the South American country’s capital. (Photo by Felipe Mendez; courtesy Creative Commons)
Officers with the Paraguayan National Police clashed with members of Somosgay and Lesvos — two LGBT advocacy organizations in the landlocked South American country — in Asunción as they protested President Horacio Cartés’ decision to oppose a proposed OAS declaration that would have indicated support of “diverse families.”
A video that Somosgay posted to YouTube shows protesters waiving rainbow flags before police in riot gear approached and struck some of them with batons. The clip also shows two journalists who appear to have been injured during the confrontation.
Sergio López of Somosgay told the Washington Blade during a Skype interview from Asunción on Monday that a pregnant woman was among those injured.
“We suffered repression by the national police,” said López.
The clashes took place as a much larger group of anti-gay protesters gathered outside the hotel where the three-day OAS meeting began on Tuesday under the banner “development through social inclusion.”
A police spokesperson acknowledged to a Paraguayan radio station that clashes took place between the officers who were protecting the anti-gay protesters and the LGBT rights advocates. He said members of Somosgay and Lesvos provoked the officers to respond.
“Some 60 gay people appeared out of nowhere,” said the spokesperson as Hoy, a Paraguayan newspaper, reported. “We spoke with them, they understood, they passed and we again asked them to disperse but they did not want to do so. We insisted a lot, spoke with them a lot, we then sent in a platoon to divide them, but they became aggressive when the blue helmets (riot police) came.”
López described the protest to the Blade as “peaceful.”
Caribe Afirmativo, a Colombian LGBT advocacy group whose members are attending the OAS meeting in the Paraguayan capital, was quick to condemn the police.
“Caribe Afirmativo rejects the attacks by the police who victimized our colleagues with the organization Somosgay of Paraguay a few hours ago,” said the group on its Facebook page. “They were protesting in a peaceful way in front of the venue where we are meeting.”
Esteban Paulón, president of the LGBT Federation of Argentina, told the Blade that a member of his organization is attending the OAS meeting in Asunción. It remains unclear whether she attended the protest.
“We emphatically reject these acts of homophobic violence in Paraguay,” Paulón told the Blade.
LGBT Paraguayans lack basic legal protections found in neighboring Argentina and other South American countries.
López and Somosgay CEO Simón Cazal petitioned a Paraguayan judge to register their Argentina marriage, but she denied their request last year.
Somosgay in 2013 opened Paraguay’s first men’s health clinic in Asunción, but Cazal told the Blade the landlocked South American country has limited resources to combat HIV/AIDS among at-risk groups. Discrimination and violence against trans Paraguayans remains pervasive.
An OAS spokesperson declined to comment on the clashes.
A member of an anti-LGBT group earlier on Tuesday posted a picture to Facebook from a forum that said “groups from the gay and abortion lobby attack and offend while our life and family delegation presents our document.” López told the Blade that he and other advocates had planned to meet with officials to discuss the protest.
The OAS adopted an anti-discrimination resolution that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression during its 2013 meeting that took place in Guatemala.
Caribe Afirmativo called upon the OAS to condemn the clashes between police and protesters. The group also urged the Paraguayan government to punish the officers who were involved.
“Unfortunately the Paraguay of President Cartés casts a negative light over a continent that wants to advance towards more equality,” said Paulón. “We clearly support the organizations Somosgay and Lesvos and we commit our resources to built together with them an egalitarian Latin America.”
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
-
Books4 days ago
Chronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
-
U.S. Federal Courts4 days ago
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
-
Opinions4 days ago
We must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
-
District of Columbia4 days ago
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time