World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and South America
Spanish jury convicts four men accused of killing gay man in 2021
RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into a law a bill banning adoption of Russian children into countries where gender transition is legal, citing the supposed danger that adopted children might be given gender care. The Russian parliament had passed the law earlier in the week.
The adoption ban applies to at least 15 countries in Europe, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. American citizens have already been banned from adopting Russian children since 2012.
The new adoption ban is an escalation of a previous law passed in 2014 that banned adoption by same-sex couples or by single people in countries where same-sex marriage is legal.
The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, who also co-authored the bill, defended the bill’s aims in a telegram post this summer.
“It is extremely important to eliminate possible dangers in the form of gender reassignment that adopted children may face in these countries,” Volodin wrote.
The bill is part of an escalating crackdown on LGBTQ people in Russia.
In 2022, Russia extended a law banning distribution of “LGBTQ propaganda” to minors so that it now bans all information about LGBTQ people or issues to anyone. Last year, Russia banned all gender transition procedures and the supreme court declared the “international LGBTQ+ movement” to be an extremist organization.
The crackdown has led many LGBTQ organizations and businesses to close or go underground amid threats and raids by authorities.
PERU
The congressional justice committee voted 12-9 with four abstentions to advance a bill to legalize civil unions for both same-sex and opposite sex couples, which would for the first time give same-sex couples legal rights in the South American nation. The bill now heads to the full congress for approval.
Efforts to gain legal recognition for same-sex unions in Peru had been stalled for more than a decade, as lawmakers had generally been hostile to the idea. In that time, most Latin American countries have legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, including all of Peru’s neighbors, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. Peru is the largest country in Latin America that does not recognize same-sex unions.
The civil union bill may be an effort to forestall a rival bill seeking to legalize same-sex marriage proposed by lesbian lawmaker Susel Paredes.
“My fight is for full equality of rights, for our partners, our children, and our families. I am convinced that it is necessary to achieve equal marriage, and it is for this institution that I will continue to fight,” Paredes wrote on her X account.
But other LGBTQ activists think the bill would still be a major advancement for queer Peruvians.
“Civil union is not ideal, but it is a step in the right direction to achieve equal rights for all Peruvians,” former congressman Carlos Bruce wrote on his X account. Bruce married his partner in Madrid in August, and currently serves as the mayor of the Surco neighborhood of Lima.
The bill gives couples in a civil union many of the rights afforded to married couples, including property rights, alimony, medical decisions, conjugal visits, inheritance rights, death benefits, tax rights, and pensions. However, it does not allow couples the right to adopt or to be recognized as parents of each other’s children. Couples in civil unions will not be recognized as families.
SPAIN
Four men were convicted over the weekend for a homophobic murder that sparked nationwide protests in 2021.
Samuel Luiz was a 24-year-old nursing assistant who was assaulted by a group of people outside a nightclub in A Coruña in Galicia on July 3, 2021. He later died in the hospital of his injuries.
After five days of deliberations, a jury found Diego Montaña, Alejandro Freire, and Kaio Amaral guilty of aggravated murder, and Alejandro Míguez of being an accomplice. The prosecution has asked for sentences of between 22 and 27 years.
The initial investigation had uncovered that up to 12 people were involved in the beating of Luiz. The attack took place over more than 15 minutes and covered more than an eighth of a mile as Luiz attempted to escape. Two Senegalese hawkers attempted to intervene to halt the attack and were attacked themselves. Witnesses said they heard the attackers accuse Luiz of being gay and used homophobic slurs during and after the attack.
The barbaric murder sparked demonstrations across Spain and made headlines around the world.
In Spain, many pundits and activists drew a link between the murder and the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric of the far-right Vox Party, which is part of the government in several Spanish regions.
AZERBAIJAN
The U.N. COP29 Climate Change Conference ended without a planned update to the Gender and Climate Change Work Program after concerted opposition from the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt, who feared that references to “gender” might be interpreted to include trans people and queer women.
The UN Climate Change Conference first adopted its Gender Work Program in Lima, Peru, in 2014, acknowledging that the impacts of climate change are borne disproportionately by women and girls, due to their frequently more precarious economic and social positions relative to men.
The Lima Program is due to expire this year, and in talks to renew it, a coalition of European, African, and Latin American countries had wanted COP29 to add a line recognizing that the impact of climate change on women can vary depending on their “gender, sex, age, and race.”
But the group of countries opposed to the new language argue that it legitimizes transgender people and may be code for promoting sexual expression and homosexuality.
Without unanimous support for a new program, the Lima Program would expire with no replacement.
Ultimately, the gender opponents got their way, and the new language was stripped from the COP29 communique. The countries participating agreed to extend the Lima Program unamended for another decade, while also developing a new gender action plan for adoption at COP30, scheduled to be held next November in Belem, Brazil.
UNITED KINGDOM
The U.S.-based training group SAGECare, which provides LGBTQ aging cultural competency training for health care workers, is teaming up with the UK’s LGBT Foundation to bring enhanced training for care facilities in the UK.
In a press release announcing the partnership, LGBT Foundation CEO Paul Martin says SAGECare will help fill a gap in elder care for LGBTQ Britons while also enhancing care businesses’ ability to compete for LGBTQ market.
“LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do,” Martin says. “We look forward to using our combined expertise to build a more equitable society.”
SAGE has advocated for LGBTQ elders in the U.S. since 1978, and according to its website, it has trained more than 270,000 workers in LGBTQ cultural competency.
Cuba
Cuba bajo presión y sin respuestas
Cubanos no hablan en términos geopolíticos. Hablan de sobrevivir
Las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y Cuba han vuelto a subir de tono. No es algo nuevo, pero este momento se siente distinto. Las medidas más recientes desde Washington buscan cerrar aún más los espacios financieros del gobierno cubano, limitar sus fuentes de ingreso y presionar sectores clave de la economía. No es simbólico. Es una política directa.
Desde Estados Unidos, el mensaje es claro. Se busca provocar cambios que no han ocurrido en más de seis décadas. También hay un componente interno, una presión política que responde a sectores del exilio que llevan años exigiendo una postura más dura. Todo eso forma parte del escenario.
Pero esa es solo una parte.
Del lado cubano, la respuesta sigue un patrón conocido. El gobierno habla de agresión externa, de guerra económica, de un embargo que se endurece. Cada medida se convierte en argumento para reforzar su narrativa y cerrar filas. No hay espacio para reconocer errores propios. Todo apunta hacia afuera.
Mientras tanto, la vida en la isla va por otro camino.
La crisis energética que hoy vive Cuba no empezó con estas medidas. Lleva años acumulándose. El sistema eléctrico está deteriorado, sin mantenimiento suficiente, con fallas constantes. Los apagones no son nuevos. Lo que ha cambiado es la frecuencia y la duración.
Durante años entró petróleo a Cuba, especialmente desde Venezuela. Hubo acuerdos. Hubo suministro. Y aun así, la vida del cubano no mejoró. La electricidad seguía fallando, el combustible seguía racionado, el transporte seguía siendo un problema diario.
Entonces la pregunta sigue siendo la misma.
Si el petróleo estaba entrando, ¿por qué nada cambiaba?
¿Dónde fue a parar ese recurso?
¿Dónde está el dinero que generó?
Hoy se habla de restricciones al petróleo como si fueran la causa principal de la crisis. No lo son. Empeoran una situación ya frágil, pero no la explican completamente.
Hay una historia más larga que no se puede ignorar.
Lo mismo ocurre con las brigadas médicas.
Durante años se presentaron como un gesto de solidaridad internacional. Y en muchos casos lo fueron. Médicos cubanos trabajaron en condiciones difíciles, salvaron vidas, sostuvieron sistemas de salud en otros países. Eso es real.
Pero también funcionaron como una de las principales fuentes de ingreso del Estado cubano.
Muchos de esos profesionales no recibían el salario completo por su trabajo. Una parte significativa quedaba en manos del gobierno. En algunos casos, ni siquiera tenían control sobre el dinero que generaban.
Y hay algo más duro.
Si uno de esos médicos decidía no regresar a Cuba, ese dinero no llegaba a su familia. Se quedaba retenido.
Hoy varios países están revisando o cancelando esos acuerdos. Y otra vez, la respuesta oficial es señalar hacia afuera. Pero la pregunta sigue siendo inevitable.
¿Se está perdiendo un modelo de cooperación o un sistema que dependía del control sobre sus propios profesionales?
Dentro de Cuba, la conversación suena diferente.
La gente no habla en términos geopolíticos. Habla de sobrevivir. De cómo llegar al final del día. De los apagones, de la comida que no alcanza, del transporte que no aparece, de una vida que cada vez se hace más difícil.
Hay quienes miran las medidas de Estados Unidos con cierta expectativa. No porque quieran más escasez, sino porque sienten que el sistema no cambia por sí solo. Hay una sensación de estancamiento que pesa.
Pero esa expectativa convive con una realidad concreta.
Las sanciones no golpean primero a quienes toman decisiones. Golpean al ciudadano común. Al que hace la fila. Al que pierde la comida por falta de electricidad. Al que no tiene cómo moverse.
Esa es la contradicción.
El gobierno cubano pide solidaridad internacional. Y la recibe. Países que envían ayuda, organizaciones que se movilizan, voces que defienden a la isla.
Pero hay otra pregunta que también está ahí.
¿Esa ayuda llega realmente al pueblo?
La falta de transparencia en la distribución de recursos es parte del problema. Porque no se trata solo de lo que entra, sino de lo que realmente llega a quienes lo necesitan.
Reducir lo que pasa en Cuba a un conflicto entre dos gobiernos es no querer ver el cuadro completo.
Aquí hay responsabilidades compartidas, pero no iguales.
Estados Unidos ejerce presión con efectos reales sobre la economía cubana. Eso no se puede negar. Pero dentro de la isla hay un sistema que ha tenido décadas para corregir, para abrir, para responder a su gente, y no lo ha hecho.
Esa parte no se puede seguir esquivando.
Yo escribo esto como cubano. Desde lo que vi, desde lo que viví y desde la gente que sigue allá tratando de resolver el día.
Porque al final, más allá de lo que se diga entre gobiernos, la realidad es otra.
Cuba hoy está más apretada, sí. Pero también lleva años arrastrando problemas que nadie ha querido enfrentar de verdad.
Y mientras eso siga así, da igual lo que venga de afuera. El problema sigue estando adentro.
Iran
LGBTQ groups condemn Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization
Ceasefire announced less than two hours before Tuesday deadline
The Council for Global Equality is among the groups that condemned President Donald Trump on Tuesday over his latest threats against Iran.
Trump in a Truth Social post said “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the U.S. by 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran.
One of them killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran in response launched missiles and drones against Israel and other countries that include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus.
Gas prices in the U.S. and around the world continue to increase because the war has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes.
Trump less than 90 minutes before his deadline announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that Pakistan helped broker.
“We the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks and experts are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s threat regarding Iran that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ if his demands are not met. Such language describes a grave atrocity if carried out,” reads the statement that the Council for Global Equality more than 200 other organizations and human rights experts signed. “A threat to wipe out ‘a whole civilization’ may amount to a threat of genocide. Genocide is a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as committing one or more of several acts ‘with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, racial or religious groups as such.'”
The statement states “the law is clear that civilians must not be targeted, and they must also be protected from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.”
“Strikes on civilian infrastructure — such as the recent attack on a bridge and the attacks President Trump is repeatedly threatening to carry out to destroy power plants — have devastating consequences for the civilian population and environment,” it reads.
“We urge all parties to respect international law,” adds the statement. “Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable.”
The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, MADRE, and the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center are among the other groups that signed the letter.
Hungary
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
Anti-LGBTQ prime minister trailing ahead of April 12 vote
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday urged Hungarians to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s April 12 elections.
“We have got to get Viktor Orbán re-elected as prime minister of Hungary,” Vance told Orbán supporters who gathered at Budapest’s MTK Sportpark.
Vance and Orbán on Tuesday met before they held a press conference in Budapest. Orbán also spoke at the rally.
The U.S. vice president after he took to the stage called President Donald Trump, who told the crowd he is “a big fan of Viktor” and is “with him all the way.” Vance, as he did during Tuesday’s press conference with Orbán, criticized the European Union.
“We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
Vance in his speech noted “across the West, we’ve got a small band of radicals” who, among other things, “condemn children to mutilization and sterilization in the name of gender care.” Vance also criticized a “far-left ideology given quarter in university circles, in the media, and in our entertainment industry, and increasingly among bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Vice President JD Vance speaks at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2026
Orbán has been in office since 2010. He and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
A Hungarian activist with whom the Washington Blade previously spoke said it is “impossible to change your gender legally in Hungary” because of a 2020 law that “banned legal gender recognition of transgender and intersex people.” Hungarian MPs the same year effectively prohibited same-sex couples from adopting children and defined marriage in the country’s constitution as between a man and a woman.
The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over the country’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian lawmakers in March 2025 passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Upwards of 100,000 people last June defied the ban and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.
Polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party ahead of the April 12 election. Vance at Tuesday’s rally told Orbán supporters that he and Trump “want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do.”
“I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
“Unlike some of the leadership of Brussels, I’m not threatening you or telling you that we’re going to withhold funds to which you’re legally entitled,” he added. “You will make the decision about Hungary’s future.”
Magyar on Tuesday appeared to dismiss Vance’s comments.
“No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels — it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares,” said Magyar on his X account.
A spokesperson for the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, told the Blade that neither Magyar, nor his party have reached out to the organization.
The spokesperson said the group does not “campaign directly for them or for any other political party.” The Háttér Society, however, is encouraging LGBTQ Hungarians to vote.
“Ahead of election day, we will encourage everyone on our social media channels to go out and vote, as this is the only way we can act against a system that has been working against the LGBTQI community for many years,” said the spokesperson.
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