South America
Peru continues to lag behind other Latin American countries on LGBTQ rights
Attempts to ‘heal homosexuality’ remain legally protected
Peru is one of the few Latin American countries without pro-LGBTQ laws, and this evident backwardness in comparison to neighboring countries translates into a lower quality of life for those who do not identify as heterosexual.
LGBTQ Peruvians are highly vulnerable because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, and they also lack a regulatory framework that recognizes and protects them. This reality makes it more difficult for them to fight for equal rights in the areas of health, education and work, among others.
So-called conversion therapy is still allowed in Peru, and attempts to “heal homosexuality” remain legally protected.
The Peruvian Ministry of Justice at the end of 2020 requested for the first time a survey that focused on the LGBTQ community. It revealed 71 percent of Peruvians considers LGBTQ people are the most discriminated group in the country.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2020 held the Peruvian state responsible for the rape and torture of Azul Rojas Marin, a transgender woman, and ordered it to provide medical, psychological and/or psychiatric treatment and to prosecute the officers who tortured her. The ruling also called on Peru to track anti-LGBTQ violence in the country and develop a national strategy to respond to it.
None of this has been complied with so far, demonstrating the state’s indifference to LGBTQ rights.
“LGBTI people are succinctly recognized in some regional or municipal ordinances at the local level, however, they have no recognition in any national legislation explicitly, which addresses their needs,” George Hale, institutional development director of Promsex, a Peruvian LGBTQ rights group, told the Washington Blade.
Jorge Apolaya, who has been organizing Pride marches in Peru for years, said that “discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the country is associated with a heterosexist culture that continues to permeate the different spheres of society, not only in public services that should be available to all people regardless of their sexual orientation and/or gender expression or identity, but also in families whose structures continue to violate non-heterosexual people.”
Peruvian lawmakers recently passed a bill that eliminates the possibility of having comprehensive sexual education with a gender focus in schools, handing that power to parents. The country is one of the few in South America that allows it.
Most of the activists in Peru with whom the Blade spoke agree that previous governments have made no progress on LGBTQ rights, and that scenario will not improve because President Pedro Castillo, who took office last year, has publicly stated LGBTQ rights are not a priority for his administration.
Then-Congressman Carlos Bruce in 2014 came out as gay in an interview with a Peruvian newspaper. Alberto de Belaunde in 2016 became the first openly gay man elected to the Peruvian Congress.
De Belaunde tried to pass various bills that his colleagues did not support. He did, however, manage to start a public debate about the lives of LGBTQ Peruvians and responded to hate speech.
De Belaunde told the Blade that “Peru is a country with a serious problem of inequality, where not all its citizens have the same rights. The LGBTQ+ community faces a serious problem of exclusion as they do not see basic rights recognized and respected, such as the right to identity or the right to equality, and this impacts their quality of life.”
He also said the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the vulnerability of LGBTQ people, particularly trans people after former President Martín Vizcarra at one point implemented a “pico y género” rule that allowed people to leave their homes based on their gender. This regulation generated a wave of violence — mainly against trans women — in Peru.
De Belaunde did not run for re-election last year, but two LGBTQ politicians entered Congress.
Susel Paredes from the center-left Purple Party became the first openly lesbian congressman in Peru. She also received the most votes of any woman who ran for Congress.
Alejando Cavero of the right-wing Avanza País party became the second openly gay man elected to Congress.
Paredes explained to the Blade from her office in Lima, the Peruvian capital, that she is currently working to pass a marriage equality bill and another that would protect people based on their gender identity. Paredes said civil unions are unacceptable “because we are looking for full equality, not special laws for us.”
Cavero, on the other hand, has announced he will soon introduce a civil unions bill.
He is also considering the elimination of the word marriage, leaving it exclusively for the religious sphere. Paredes and some Peruvian LGBTQ activists do not support this strategy.
Paredes, however, acknowledged her expectations regarding the approval of equal marriage in this Congress have no possibilities. She therefore said she will support Cavero’s civil unions bill.
“The possibilities that equal marriage will be approved are very limited and scarce due to the composition of the and scarce due to the composition of the Congress,” emphasized Paredes. “It is a Congress that has some left-wing conservatives and some right-wing conservatives. And the Peruvian right wing is absolutely conservative, there is no modern liberal right wing.”
“I believe that the civil union bill will be approved. But for that, we have to keep pushing for equal marriage. That way, the civil union bill will be approved faster and at last LGBTQ+ families will be able to have an institutionality,” she stressed.
Paredes is currently seeking legal recognition of her 2016 marriage in the U.S.
She said she will bring her case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights if Peru’s Constitutional Court rules against her.
Brazil
US official protested at 2026 International AIDS Conference
White House funding cuts have adversely impacted global HIV/AIDS fight
HIV/AIDS activists on Sunday protested a Trump-Vance administration official at the 2026 International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell and others disrupted U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Jeff Graham, who is leading the Trump-Vance administration’s AIDS 2026 delegation, as he spoke. They were protesting the Trump-Vance administration’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid that they maintain have had a devasting impact on the global HIV/AIDS fight.
“The U.S. government has stolen HIV treatment from 77,163 HIV positive children, slashed PrEP enrollment by 42 percent, closed 1,700 PEPFAR HIV treatment sites, decimated programs led by and for key populations, implementers report slashing condom programming by 93 percent, and so much more,” said Russell in a Bluesky post that contained pictures of her and other activists on stage at AIDS 2026.
The US government has stolen HIV treatment from 77,163 HIV positive children, slashed PrEP enrolment by 42%, closed 1700 PEPFAR HIV treatment sites, decimated programs led by and for key populations, implementers report slashing condom programming by 93% and so much more
— Asia Russell (@asia-ilse.bsky.social) July 26, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after the Trump-Vance administration took office issued a waiver that allowed PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during a freeze on nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending. HIV/AIDS service providers around the world with whom the Washington Blade has spoken say PEPFAR cuts and the loss of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which officially closed on July 1, 2025, has severely impacted their work.
The International AIDS Society in a press release it issued last week noted PEPFAR “has saved more than 26 million lives” since President George W. Bush implemented it in 2003, “and changed the trajectory of the HIV pandemic.” The group also said PEPFAR “was a a success under the first Trump administration, with major progress toward the 95-95-95 goals.”
The UNAIDS’s 95-95-95 goals are 95 percent of people with HIV knowing their status, 95 percent of people with HIV having access to antiretroviral therapy, and 95 percent of those receiving ART having suppressed viral loads by 2030.
“Since the start of the second Trump administration, however, it has undergone major disruptions,” added the International AIDS Society.
“No one has to accept being lied to by this administration, particularly not the scientists and communities and activists who know the best what is at stake and what is actually happening,” said Russell on Bluesky.
many many people stood up and applauded during our protest, and thanked us afterward.
No one has to accept being lied to by this administration, particularly not the scientists and communities and activists who know the best what is at stake and what is actually happening
— Asia Russell (@asia-ilse.bsky.social) July 26, 2026 at 2:45 PM
AIDS 2026 will end on Friday.
Brazil
2026 International AIDS Conference to take place in Rio
US funding cuts have significantly impacted global HIV/AIDS fight
The 2026 International AIDS Conference will take place next week in Rio de Janeiro.
Francisco Ruiz, the former director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima are among those scheduled to speak at the conference that will take place in the Brazilian city from July 26-31. Other scheduled speakers include Spanish Health Secretary Javier Padilla, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, South African Deputy Health Minister Mathume Joseph “Joe” Phaahla, and Alexus D’Marco of the United Caribbean Trans Network.
The International AIDS Society-organized AIDS 2026’s theme is “Rethink. Rebuild. Rise.”
AIDS 2026 will take place against the backdrop of U.S. funding cuts that have significantly impacted the global HIV/AIDS fight.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after the Trump-Vance administration took office issued a waiver that allowed PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during a freeze on nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending. HIV/AIDS service providers around the world with whom the Washington Blade has spoken say PEPFAR cuts and the loss of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which officially closed on July 1, 2025, has severely impacted their work.
The International AIDS Society in a press release it issued on Tuesday noted PEPFAR “has saved more than 26 million lives” since President George W. Bush implemented it in 2003, “and changed the trajectory of the HIV pandemic.”
“PEPFAR was a success under the first Trump administration, with major progress toward the 95-95-95 goals,” it said.
The UNAIDS’s 95-95-95 goals are 95 percent of people with HIV knowing their status, 95 percent of people with HIV having access to antiretroviral therapy, and 95 percent of those receiving ART having suppressed viral loads by 2030.
“Since the start of the second Trump administration, however, it has undergone major disruptions,” added the International AIDS Society.
Eswatini is among the African countries that have received doses of lenacapavir, a groundbreaking HIV prevention drug that users inject twice a year, through PEPFAR since the Trump-Vance administration took office.
The White House last month announced it will end PEPFAR funding for South Africa.
President Ronald Reagan in 1985 implemented the global gag rule, also known as the “Mexico City” policy, that banned U.S. foreign aid for groups that support abortion and/or offer abortion-related services. The Trump-Vance administration earlier this year expanded the prohibition to include groups that promote “gender ideology” and support gender-affirming care and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The International AIDS Society in its press release notes 52 percent of “all implementing partners had at least once terminated award,” while 77 percent of them “had been asked to restrict their work to comply with an additional U.S. policy.” The International AIDS Society notes 1,010 public health facilities, 325 “access points” and 126 “drop-in centers” around the world have closed because of U.S. funding cuts.
“Science is moving fast, giving us more powerful HIV prevention and treatment tools. But these advances cannot save lives if they never reach the people who need them,” said International AIDS Society President Beatriz Grinsztejn, who co-chairs AIDS 2026 and is the director of Rio de Janeiro’s Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infection Diseases’ HIV/AIDS Clinical Research Unit. “That requires robust, stable financing and steadfast political commitment.”
Venezuela
Advocacy groups join Venezuela earthquake relief efforts
Back-to-back quakes on June 24 killed more than 4,500 people
Advocacy groups have joined the relief efforts in Venezuela after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated large swaths of the country on June 24.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes caused widespread damage in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and elsewhere in the country.
Officials in the South American country say the earthquakes killed more than 4,500 people and left more than 16,000 others injured. La Guaira state on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast in which the country’s main international airport is located is one of the hardest hit areas.
Yonatan Matheus, a Venezuelan LGBTQ rights activist who currently lives in the U.S., was born and raised in La Guaira.
He wrote on his website that relatives and close friends who still live in the state have lost their homes. Matheus in his post that the Washington Blade published on Monday also said the earthquakes killed two gay men he knew.
“Their names reminded me that behind every statistic lie stories, personal bonds, and life plans,” he wrote. “They also made me think of all those people whose lives and deaths are unlikely to make headlines — especially those who lived on the margins for years, with little visibility and without full recognition of their dignity.”
“They reminded me that emergencies never affect everyone equally,” added Matheus. “Those already facing greater vulnerability often bear an even heavier burden during the recovery process.”
The earthquakes struck less than six months after American forces seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at their home in Caracas during an overnight operation.
Maduro and Flores on Jan. 5 pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges in New York. The Venezuelan National Assembly the day before swore in Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, as the country’s acting president.
Hugo Chávez died in 2013, and Maduro succeeded him as Venezuela’s president. Subsequent economic and political crises prompted millions of Venezuelans to leave the country.
Rodríguez has faced criticism over the Venezuelan government’s response to the earthquakes.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation Latin America Bureau Chief Patricia Campos in a message she sent to Michael Weinstein, the group’s president, on June 29 described the government’s response as “uncoordinated, poor, and delayed, influenced by political interests.”
“The number of fatalities continues to rise, and many shelters have been set up in public spaces to help those in need,” said Campos. “Hospitals and morgues are working tirelessly beyond their capacity, demonstrating the community’s resilience. Fortunately, international rescue teams have arrived, offering much-needed assistance to recover those still trapped in the debris.”
AHF has clinics in Cúcuta, a Colombian city that is a few miles from the country’s border with Venezuela, and elsewhere in Colombia.
Campos told Weinstein that AHF Colombia “has been communicating with” more than half of the 1,080 “of our patients in care who live in Venezuela.” Campos also noted AHF relief supplies arrived in Venezuela with the 11/13 Foundation, another NGO, and they had been distributed.
New York-based AID FOR AIDS International, an HIV/AIDS service organization that works in Venezuela, has launched an earthquake relief fund.
The Venezuela Earthquake Emergency Relief Fund has thus far raised $55,893.39. It hopes to raise $250,000.
“All donations will go directly to our network of local partners on the ground in Venezuela, who are working to assess the most urgent needs and provide emergency support to affected communities — including but not limited to medicines, food, water, and shelter,” says AID FOR AIDS International.
The group adds “the scale of destruction is the greatest challenge.”
“La Guaira has been catastrophically damaged, and Caracas continues to deteriorate — with looting, businesses closing due to insecurity, widespread power outages, and hospitals overwhelmed with injured patients but critically lacking supplies,” it says. “Reaching affected communities quickly and safely is not easy under these conditions.”
“Our challenge is immediacy,” added AID FOR AIDS International, which is working with its colleagues in Venezuela and students at the country’s Universidad Central de Venezuela who are part of the relief efforts. “Through the strategic partnerships we have already established with trusted organizations on the ground in Venezuela, we are positioned to mobilize resources directly and efficiently, ensuring that every dollar reaches the families in the affected areas.”
Other groups, such as Venezolanos en Barranquilla, which is based in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, have also joined the relief effort.
Barranquilla Vice President Juan Carlos Viloria in an interview with the Washington Post accused the Venezuelan government of “systematic negligence” by restricting “access to the most affected zones.” Venezolanos en Barranquilla nevertheless continues to work with the Catholic Church and other NGOs to mobilize rescue workers and to facilitate the distribution of food, water, generators, and other items in La Guaira and Caracas.
“Despite this situation, we are continuing to do everything for our people,” Viloria told the Blade last week.
PHOTOS: Petal Release Party
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth
PHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade
Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade draws hundreds of thousands
Madonna to perform at World Pride in Amsterdam
BLADE ENDORSEMENT: Susan Stewart for mayor of Rehoboth Beach
PHOTOS: Lambda Legal in the Pines
Calendar: July 31-August 6
