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Peru’s new ombudsman makes homophobic comments before Congress

Josué Manuel Gutiérrez Cóndor elected on May 17

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3 years ago

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Peruvian Ombudsman Josué Manuel Gutiérrez Cóndor, third from left, meets with lesbian Peruvian Congresswoman Susel Paredes, fourth from left, in Lima, Peru, on May 29, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Paredes' Twitter page)

CUSCO, Peru — Peru on May 17 elected a new ombudsman.

The office of Peru’s ombudsman, or “Defensor del Pueblo,” was created in 1993. The ombudsman’s website says this autonomous office’s role is to “defend and promote the individual and communal rights,” with an emphasis on the rights of vulnerable peoples. Some of the powers of this office include presenting amicus curiae briefs and even bills to Peru’s Congress. 

Given the powers and responsibilities of this position, the ombudsman is of particular relevance to Peru’s queer community. And on May 17 of this year, Congress by an 88-24 vote margin elected Josué Manuel Gutiérrez Cóndor, a lawyer and former congressman, to be Peru’s new ombudsman.

Shortly after his appointment, though, it became known that Gutiérrez during his election process before Congress made remarks that some are calling homophobic.

Conservative Congressman Alejandro Muñante asked Gutiérrez about “Lesbian Visibility Day.” ​​Gutiérrez, in his response, said although he is a “lover of freedoms,” he also called homosexuality a “deformity that needs to be corrected.”

“These deformities are debaucherous … these deformities don’t contribute to institutions or the state, therefore this behavior must be corrected and not idealized,” added Gutiérrez.

Jorge Apolaya, a spokesperson for the Lima Pride March Collective, spoke with the Washington Blade over WhatsApp about the historic importance of Peru’s ombudsman in the fight for LGBTQ and intersex rights.

“The ombudsman’s office is an entity that contributes to guaranteeing the rule of law in the search for justice … and the LGBT population has often had to resort to [the ombudsman] in order to achieve greater attention to their demands,” said Apolaya. “So it’s necessary for the country to have strengthened institutions because only in this way will we be able to advance the human rights of all people, especially the most vulnerable populations in the country.”

It is perhaps due to the importance of this office that, despite Gutiérrez’s apparent homophobia, Peru’s first and only lesbian congressman, Susel Paredes, met with ​​Gutiérrez. With rainbow and transgender flags sprawled across the table, the congresswoman and ​​Gutiérrez on May 29 spoke about issues affecting the LGBTQ and intersex community in Peru. 

After the meeting, Paredes posted on Twitter:

“Meeting with the ombudsman, Josué Gutiérrez. This isn’t a blank check. He already committed to a solution for the children of same-sex families. The update of Report 175 on the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community and supporting the Pride March are also part of the commitments.”

The above-tweet refers to Gutiérrez’s supposed commitments to help resolve the situation of gay and lesbian parents who can’t register their children as their own under Peruvian law (with both of their surnames,) and the role of the ombudsman to create a report on the situation of LGBTQ and intersex people in Peru. 

Not everyone, however, was convinced by the ombudsman’s promises so soon after his homophobic appearance before Congress.

Replying to Paredes’ tweet, Peruvian human rights activist Gabriel Moreno Alcántara, wrote: “Still, we can’t trust him one bit. Right now he is new so he is going to want to be liked by all social groups.” (Paredes liked the tweet.)

Apolaya, though, tells the Blade that he doesn’t fault the congresswoman for having the meeting with Gutiérrez as it is part of the duties of her office to meet with officials like him. 

“I think that [the meeting] was an opportunity for the ombudsman to learn about the demands of LGBTI people in the country.”

U.S. Ambassador to Peru Lisa Kenna also met with Gutiérrez. 

She tweeted on June 7 that “everyone has the right to fundamental freedoms. I spoke with the Ombudsman Josué Gutiérrez to express our support for the defense of human rights and democracy in Peru.”

This tweet attracted some backlash from both liberal and conservative Peruvians. 

Some conservatives took issue with the ambassador’s use of the word “todes,” a gender-neutral word for “everyone” that does not exist in traditional Spanish. Muñante replied to the tweet, writing “‘todes’” does not exist in our language, Madam Ambassador, be careful with the image you project in our country.”

In one of South America’s most conservative countries, the controversies surrounding Gutiérrez’s appointment are indicative of the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ and intersex rights. 

Peru remains one of the few countries in South America which offers zero recognition for same-sex couples, despite a 2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling which mandates that signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights to legalize same-sex marriage. And in one of the areas Paredes brought up in her meeting with ​​Gutiérrez, same-sex parenting, public opinion greatly lags behind other countries in the region. 

According to a 2021 Ipsos study, a majority of Peruvians disagreed with the statement that “same-sex couples should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexual couples do.” Further, in a 2023 survey (also by Ipsos), 98 percent of LGBTQ people responded that they were either “extremely” or “very” dissatisfied with “the role of the State in guaranteeing rights of diverse families/LGBTIQA+ people.” Fifty-six percent of respondents also reported having experienced discrimination in public spaces. 

Despite the widespread discrimination and the suspicions of some in Peru’s queer community of Gutiérrez’s true intentions, plans for Pride continue unabated. 

Apolaya tells the Blade that the Lima Pride March, which will take place on July 1, is expecting around 25,000 participants. Other towns in Peru will also be hosting their first-ever Pride festivities. 

Juliaca, the town where 18 protesters and bystanders were killed in a single day during the political unrest earlier this year, will host a march on June 28. 

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Federal Government

Gay Venezuelan man ‘forcibly disappeared’ to El Salvador files claim against White House

Andry Hernández Romero had asked for asylum in US

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2 weeks ago

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March 13, 2026

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Andry Hernández Romero (Photo courtesy of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center)

A gay Venezuelan asylum seeker who the U.S. “forcibly disappeared” to El Salvador has filed a claim against the federal government.

Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who represents Andry Hernández Romero, on Friday announced their client and five other Venezuelans who the Trump-Vance administration “forcibly removed” to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, filed “administrative claims” under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The White House on Feb. 20, 2025, designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as an “international terrorist organization.”

President Donald Trump less than a month later invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the Associated Press notes allows the U.S. to deport “noncitizens without any legal recourse.” The White House then “forcibly removed” Hernández, who had been pursuing his asylum case in the U.S., and more than 250 other Venezuelans to El Salvador.

Immigrant Defenders Law Center disputed claims that Hernández is a Tren de Aragua member.

Hernández was held at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT, until his release on July 18, 2025. Hernández, who is back in Venezuela, claims he suffered physical and sexual abuse while at CECOT.

“As a Venezuelan citizen with no criminal record anywhere in the world, I would like to tell not only the government of the United States but governments everywhere that no human being is illegal,” said Hernández in the Immigrant Defenders Law Center press release. “The practice of judging whole communities for the wrongdoing of a single individual must end. Governments should use their power to help every person in the nation become more aware and informed, to strengthen our cultures and build a stronger generation with principles and values — one that multiplies the positive instead of destroying unfulfilled dreams and opportunities.” 

Immigrant Defenders Law Center filed claims on behalf of Hernández and the five other Venezuelans less than three months after American forces seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at their home in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges. Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, is Venezuela’s acting president.

‘Due process and accountability cannot be optional’

Immigrant Defenders Law Center on Friday also made the following demands: 

  • The Trump administration must officially release the names of all people the United States sent to CECOT to ensure that everyone has been or will be released. 
  • The federal government must clear the names of the 252 men wrongfully labeled as criminal gang members of Tren de Aragua.  
  • DHS (Department of Homeland Security) must end the practice of outsourcing torture through third‑country removals, restore humanitarian parole, and rebuild a functioning, humane asylum system.  
  • DHS must reinstate Temporary Protected Status for all individuals who cannot safely return to their home countries, halt mass deportations and unlawful raids and arrests, and guarantee due process for everyone navigating the immigration system.  
  • Congress must pass the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which would repeal the Alien Enemies Act.   

“In all my years as an immigration attorney, I have never seen a client simply vanish in the middle of their case with no explanation,” said Immigration Defenders Legal Fund Legal Services Director Melissa Shepard. “In court, the government couldn’t even explain where he was — he had been disappeared.” 

“When the government detains and transfers people in secrecy, without transparency or access to the courts, it tears at the basic protections a democracy is supposed to guarantee,” added Shepard. “What this experience makes painfully clear is that due process and accountability cannot be optional. They are the only safeguards standing between people and the kind of lawlessness our clients suffered. We must end third country transfers, restore the asylum system, and humanitarian parole, and reinstate temporary protective status so this nightmare never happens again.” 

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Ecuador

Adolescentes trans en Ecuador podrán cambiar datos en su cédula, pero con condicionamientos

Pueden modificar el campo de género en su documento de identidad con requisitos

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2 weeks ago

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March 13, 2026

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Edición Cientonce es el socio mediático del Washington Blade en Ecuador. Esta nota salió en su sitio web el 12 de marzo.

Por VICTOR H. CARREÑO | En una sentencia del 5 de febrero de 2026, la Corte Constitucional declaró inconstitucional el requisito legal de mayoría de edad para modificar el campo de sexo o género en la cédula de identidad y fija lineamientos para que adolescentes trans puedan cambiar estos datos.

El máximo organismo de control e interpretación constitucional incorpora dos requerimientos: que la persona adolescente se presente al procedimiento administrativo con sus padres y que informes psicosociales acrediten un grado de madurez.

El fallo resuelve una consulta de constitucionalidad de una unidad judicial que lleva una acción de protección contra el Registro Civil presentada por la familia de un adolescente trans que solicitó, en junio de 2023, modificar el campo de género en la cédula.

La institución se negó porque la Ley Orgánica de Gestión de la Identidad y Datos Civiles establece que la rectificación de sexo o género es un procedimiento para personas mayores de 18 años.

El adolescente, cuya identidad se protege en la sentencia, cuenta con el apoyo de sus padres en su transición, que inició en 2020. En una audiencia, su madre expuso que si bien en el ámbito familiar y en el sistema educativo se respeta la identidad de su hijo, fuera de estos hay situaciones, como en consultas médicas en el Seguro Social, en que debe presentar la cédula de él y quienes la reciben preguntan si es el documento equivocado.

En el desarrollo de la sentencia, la Corte expone por qué el requisito de tener mayoría de edad para acceder a la modificación de datos en la cédula es inconstitucional.

Entre varios motivos, explica que restringe los derechos al libre desarrollo de la personalidad e identidad, que la edad no puede exigirse como “criterio determinante y único” para determinar la madurez de un adolescente, y que la medida puede generar impactos negativos en el bienestar psicológico y emocional.

Por ello, indica que existen mecanismos alternativos como la evaluación individualizada, el acompañamiento técnico y la consideración del contexto familiar.

En ese sentido, la Corte dispone al Registro Civil que debe proceder al cambio de los datos de adolescentes trans cuando acudan acompañades de sus representantes legales y con el respaldo de informes psicosociales.

Estos informes, agrega la sentencia, deben ser de profesionales acreditados o de órganos técnicos públicos competentes que sean considerados por el Registro Civil.

El fallo tiene efectos para este caso y otros similares. A diferencia de otras sentencias, la Corte no ordena una reforma a la legislación.

La organización Silueta X, que difundió el caso en un comunicado el 11 de marzo, calificó el fallo como histórico y explicó que este crea jurisprudencia de cumplimiento obligatorio.

Sin embargo, otras organizaciones cuestionan los requisitos. Fundación Pakta indica que si bien la sentencia derriba la barrera etaria de la mayoría de edad, la inclusión de informes psicosociales contradice la tendencia global y regional hacia la despatologización.

Pakta menciona, por ejemplo, la Opinión Consultiva 24/17 de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, instrumento que reconoce la identidad autopercebida de las personas y los derechos patrimoniales de parejas del mismo sexo.

El documento, recuerda Pakta en un comunicado, establece que para el reconocimiento de la identidad de género no se debe exigir certificados médicos ni psicológicos. Además, que la Organización Mundial de la Salud reconoció que la identidad trans no es una patología psiquiátrica.

Mientras que la activista Nua Fuentes, de Proyecto Transgénero, considera que los requisitos impuestos por la Corte pueden ser problemáticos. Menciona que frente al desconocimiento y prejuicios, profesionales de salud patologizan la identidad trans.

Además, señala que puede haber casos de que la familia y psicólogos expresen rechazo a la identidad trans y limiten los derechos de adolescentes trans. O también menciona casos de abandono de niñes y adolescentes trans y pregunta cómo reconocer su identidad si no cumplen con el requisito de acudir sin representantes legales.

Los condicionamientos para el cambio del campo de sexo o género en la cédula para adolescentes trans marcan también una diferencia con el procedimiento en personas trans de más de 18 años, pues estas —desde las reformas vigentes en 2024— no deben presentar requisitos. Solo su declaración expresa de ser una persona trans que desea que los datos de su cédula estén conformes a su identidad de género.

La madurez de niñeces y adolescencias ha sido un tema abordado en convenciones o instrumentos internacionales. La Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño de la ONU del 2009 es contundente al reconocerles como seres autónomos y capaces de formar sus propias opiniones a través de la experiencia, el entorno, las expectativas sociales y culturales.

Esta convención es mencionada en una sentencia de la Corte Constitucional en que reconoció la identidad de infancias y adolescencias trans en el sistema educativo.

En las Observaciones Generales del Comité de los Derechos del Niño, documentos de interpretación para los alcances de la mencionada Convención, se explica que la madurez es “la capacidad de comprender y evaluar las consecuencias de un asunto determinado”, lo cual debe considerarse en relación con su capacidad individual, contextos, entornos, experiencias de vida y familiar, desarrollo psicológico y no únicamente con su edad biológica.

Además, que la edad cronológica no determina la evolución de las capacidades de las niñeces y adolescencias porque estas crecen a lo largo del tiempo.

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Chile

Far-right Chilean President José Antonio Kast takes office

Former congressman opposes LGBTQ rights

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2 weeks ago

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March 11, 2026

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Chilean President José Antonio Kast moments after his inauguration in Valparaíso, Chile, on March 11, 2026. (CNN Chile screenshot)

Chilean President José Antonio Kast took office on Wednesday.

Kast — the far-right leader of the Republican Party who was a member of the country’s House of Deputies from 2002-2018 — defeated Jeannette Jara — a member of the Communist Party of Chile who was the former labor and social welfare minister in former President Gabriel Boric’s government — in last year’s presidential election.

The Chilean constitution prevented Boric from running for a second consecutive term.

The Washington Blade has previously reported Kast has expressed his opposition to gender-specific policies, comprehensive sex education, and reforms to Chile’s anti-discrimination laws. Kast has also publicly opposed the country’s marriage equality law that took effect on March 10, 2022, the day before Boric took office.

The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ and intersex rights group known by the acronym Movilh, declared a “state of alert” after Kast’s election, “given this leader’s (Kast’s) public and political trajectory, characterized for decades by systematic opposition to laws and policies aimed at equality and nondiscrimination of LGBTIQ+ individuals.”

Argentine President Javier Milei, Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau, and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado are among those who attended Kast’s inauguration that took place in the Chilean Congress in Valparaíso.

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