South America
Nicolás Maduro declares victory in disputed Venezuelan presidential election
LGBTQ activists join opposition in denouncing irregularities
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) on Sunday announced President Nicolás Maduro won a third term with 51.2 percent of the votes, compared to the 44.2 percent it said opposition leader Edmundo González received.
Fifty-nine percent of Venezuelans voted in the election that took place peacefully in most of the country, aside from reports of unrest in Táchira state that borders Colombia.
Authorities announced the results six hours after polling places closed, with CNE President Elvis Amoroso attributing the delay to a “terrorist” attack that affected data transmission. Maduro backed this explanation, suggesting a massive hacking of the electoral system took place.
The opposition, however, denounced irregularities and questioned the process’s transparency. Opposition leader María Corina Machado said she and her supporters have minutes that indicate González received 70 percent of the votes.
“There is a new president-elect and he is Edmundo González, and everybody knows it,” said Machado.
González entered into a political partnership with Machado, who Maduro’s government disqualified from holding public office. Machado backed González, a former diplomat.
“All regulations have been violated,” said González. “Our struggle continues.”
Maduro, for his part, called on his adversaries to abide by the results.
“This constitution must be respected,” said Maduro while speaking to supporters outside Miraflores Palace in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, after the CSE declared him the winner. “The referee must be respected and no one must try to tarnish this beautiful day.”
In this regard, Tamara Adrián, the country’s first transgender congresswoman who ran in the presidential primary earlier this year, told the Washington Blade that “according to the information we have from the minutes that witnesses were able to obtain in approximately 40 percent of the polling stations, Edmundo González won with a percentage higher than 65 percent of the votes in all the states and in all the social sectors.”
The former congresswoman added “that is the result we had around 8 o’clock at night, when they started to issue instructions from the National Electoral Council for two things: One, to prohibit the entrance of Edmundo González’s witnesses in the vote counting room, something that continued during the whole night.”
“That is to say they never had any oversight from González in the computations,” Adrián told the Blade.
“And two, they prohibited the table chiefs from printing the minutes that the law says,” she added.
The elections took place amid widespread distrust of the CNE, whose board of directors includes figures linked to the ruling party.
The opposition questioned the electoral body’s impartiality and lack of recognized international observers. Reports indicate people in several areas of Caracas on Sunday used pots and pans to protest the CNE announcement.
LGBTQ activist Richelle Briceño told the Blade “the electoral participation in favor of change in the country was a majority and that will has been undoubtedly twisted by those who have dominated the electoral power and the armed forces of the nation.”
“They gave official results that do not adjust to reality and consequently are unverifiable,” said Briceño.
Chilean president, Biden-Harris administration question election results
Chilean President Gabriel Boric and other regional leaders expressed skepticism about the results.
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed concern about the count’s validity. Cuba and Honduras, on the other hand, congratulated Maduro after the CNE declared him the winner.
“The Maduro regime must understand that the results it publishes are hard to believe,” wrote Boric on his X account. “The international community and above all the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency of the minutes and the process.”
“We are seriously concerned that the announced result does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” said Blinken.
The situation in Venezuela remains uncertain, and the next few hours could define a new chapter in the country’s tumultuous political history.
“There is no certain formula for Maduro to leave the presidency while the other powers and institutions of the country are at his service,” said Briceño. “Venezuelans did what was in our hands, which was to express ourselves massively. Now we must continue to demand audited and verified results so that the truth is imposed before the world.”
“The support of the international community is fundamental for these purposes,” added Briceño.
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.
My evening with Madonna
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
PHOTOS: Lambda Legal in the Pines
Calendar: July 31-August 6
Taiwan’s government has failed to update process to change gender markers on ID documents
Come showcase your singing, poetry talent
