World
Colombia LGBT activist discusses challenges
Caribe Afirmativo Director Wilson Castañeda Castro attended Bogotá training
Wilson Castañeda Castro of the Colombian LBGT advocacy group Caribe Afirmativo. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
“The Caribbean is a region of a high cultural diversity,” Caribe Afirmativo Director Wilson Castañeda Castro said during the USAID-backed Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute and Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice training that he and roughly 30 other activists from across the country are attending in the Colombian capital of Bogotá. “You find a very pluralistic cultural dynamic, but it goes against the recognition of sexual diversity.”
Friends of a gay activist of Cuban descent who was murdered in Cartagena in 2007 founded Caribe Afirmativo after his death.
The organization that also works in the cities of Barranquilla, Valledupar, Urabá, Sincelejo and Montería documents the impact that violence and the armed conflict that began in Colombia in the 1960s has had on the region’s LGBT population. It also seeks to educate the public about sexual minorities, organize LGBT people and highlight homophobic and transphobic politicians.
“The governments in these areas are very homophobic governments,” Castañeda said. “This agenda seeks commitments from them with respect to the LGBT community.”
He said his group continues to confront the sexual exploitation of young gay men of Afro-Caribbean descent due to increased tourism in Cartagena and Santa Marta. Caribe Afirmativo also works with many transgender women who have been displaced because of violence and those who have been threatened because they are open about their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
“It is a region full of challenges,” he said.
Castañeda further noted he feels the centralized Colombian government does not understand “this is a dynamic country made up of many regions.” He added life for LGBT people who live outside Bogotá remains difficult because of a lack of support from local officials and a lack of community engagement and visibility.
“We have not found a government that will help us address these goals,” Castañeda said.
Castañeda criticizes government for remaining silent on LGBT issues
The country’s highest court in 2011 ruled same-sex couples can legally register their relationships in two years if Colombian lawmakers don’t pass a bill that would extend to them the same benefits heterosexuals receive through marriage. The tribunal’s deadline is June 20, but the Colombian Senate last month overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have allowed gays and lesbians to tie the knot.
Colombian lawmakers in 2011 passed a new anti-discrimination law that includes sexual orientation.
Colombia is also among the countries that helped secure passage of the United States’ first-ever resolution in support of LGBT rights in the same year.
Castañeda acknowledged to the Blade that LGBT-specific advances have taken place over the last four years. He also criticized President Juan Manuel Santos’ government for remaining silent on same-sex marriage, anti-LGBT violence and other issues.
“It is inconsistent that the government wanted to remain silent when we are talking about the vulnerability of rights,” Castañeda said.
Castañeda, who visited D.C. and two other U.S. cities in April with a group of other Colombian LGBT rights advocates on a State Department-sponsored trip, noted the strong ties between the two countries. He added he and other advocates can continue to learn from LGBT rights advocates in the United States.
“In Colombia the LGBT community remains one of the most marginalized communities,” he said. “The U.S. visit allowed us to see first-hand experiences, situations, specific examples of people and institutions and organizations. We can take some of what we experienced [there] and apply it here in Colombia.”
Australia
Australian LGBTQ rights group issues US travel advisory
Equality Australia warns transgender, nonbinary people of ‘serious risks’
An LGBTQ rights group in Australia has issued a travel advisory for transgender and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
Equality Australia on April 14 posted the advisory to its website that states the U.S. government’s policy on visas and Electronic System for Travel Authorization or ESTA “appears to be” the following:
• To use the term “biological sex”
• To only use the gender marker recorded at a person’s birth, even if this differs from their gender
• That valid foreign passports with an ‘X’ gender marker and a valid visa (if needed) may continue to be admitted, however this is contingent upon satisfying inspection of their admissibility by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry
• That any previously issued, valid visa may remain current until its expiration date and the visa holder does not need to apply for a new visa with an amended gender marker until the current visa expires (it is unclear whether this applies to ESTAs)
• That new visas will only be issued under the gender marker recorded for the applicant at birth (it is unclear whether this applies to ESTA applications, although only ‘M’ and ‘F’ gender marker options are available for ESTA applications)
• That if consular officers assessing visa applications become aware an application does not contain the gender marker recorded at the applicant’s birth, they should assess additional evidence (such as previous travel records, although the scope is unclear), and/or conduct interviews and
• That where individuals are not using the gender marker recorded at their birth, consular officers should consider classifying the application as procuring a visa through material misrepresentation or fraud, which results in a lifetime bar from the U.S.
President Donald Trump shortly after he took office on Jan. 20 issued an executive order that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in response to directive ordered State Department personnel to “suspend any application requesting an ‘X’ sex marker and do not take any further action pending additional guidance from the department.” A federal judge in Boston on April 18 issued a temporary injunction against the Trump-Vance administration’s directive.
Equality Australia says its advisory is “relevant if you are traveling to the U.S.” and fall under the following criteria:
• Hold a passport with a gender ‘X’ marker
• Have identity documents with gender markers different to those assigned to you at birth, or where other relevant details (such as your name) have been changed
• Have gender markers in your identity documents that do not match your gender expression
• Have a track record of LGBTIQ+ activism or other political activity.
“Travel to the U.S. carries serious risks that should be considered before planning any travel, particularly if you fall under one of the above categories,” reads the advisory.
Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
WorldPride is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.
InterPride, the organization that coordinates WorldPride events, on March 12 issued its own travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who want to travel to the U.S. Egale Canada, one of Canada’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations, in February announced its members will not attend WorldPride and any other event in the U.S. because of the Trump-Vance administration’s policies.
Pope Francis died on Monday at his official residence at the Vatican. He was 88.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said Francis passed away at Casa Santa Marta at 7:35 a.m. local time (1:35 a.m. ET.)
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church,” said Farrell. “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the one and triune God.”
Francis, a Jesuit who was previously known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents in 1936. He became archbishop of the Argentine capital in 1998.
Pope John Paul II in 2001 appointed him cardinal. The College of Cardinals in 2013 elected Francis to succeed Pope Benedict XVI after he resigned.
Francis vehemently opposed Argentina’s marriage equality law that then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed in 2010. Francis as pope backed civil unions for gays and lesbians and in 2023 said priests can bless same-sex couples.
Francis in 2023 said laws that criminalize homosexuality are “unjust.” He appointed Robert McElroy, an LGBTQ-friendly cardinal from San Diego, as the new archbishop of Washington.
The pontiff in 2015 met with a group of gay, transgender, and HIV-positive prisoners in the Italian city of Naples. A Vatican charity in 2020 gave money to a group of trans sex workers in Italy who were struggling to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Francis last October met with a group of trans and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ allies at the Vatican. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis and Juan Carlos Cruz, a gay Chilean man who is a clergy sex abuse survivor, are among those who also met with Francis during his papacy.
Church teachings on homosexuality and gender identity, however, did not change.
“From the early months of his papacy when he uttered the now-iconic ‘Who am I to judge?’ in response to a question about accepting gay priests, through numerous affirming pastoral messages to individual LGBTQ+ people, to his support for civil unions, and his condemnation of criminalization laws, Pope Francis has changed the church irreversibly by allowing people to see how their Catholic faith requires acceptance and equality,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Mount Rainier, Md., based LGBTQ Catholic advocacy organization, in a statement.
DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke met Francis in 2023.
The group in a statement acknowledged the pontiff’s “legacy on LGBTQ+ issues is complicated,” noting “even with the recognition of so many positive words and actions, church teachings and even some recent Vatican documents remain problematic.” DignityUSA President Meli Barber nevertheless praised Francis.
“We also recognize that Pope Francis has raised awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in our church in truly unprecedented ways,” said Barber. “He spoke about us using our own terms and made a point of being seen meeting with LGBTQ+ people frequently. This sent a message of recognition and inclusion we never experienced from the Vatican before.”
Pope’s legacy is ‘mixed’
Activists in Argentina and around the world also mourned Francis.
“We mourn his death and embrace the people who are suffering today because of his passing,” LGBT Federation of Argentina President María Rachid told the Washington Blade.
Dindi Tan, national president of LGBT Pilipinas in the Philippines, on her Facebook page wrote Francis “was unafraid to challenge age-old dogmas and to ‘rattle’ the cage.” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Federation, said Francis was an “ally of equity, humanity and dignity of LGBTQ+ people, not only during his pontificate, but throughout his life.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, in a statement acknowledged Francis’s “more compassionate tone towards sexual minorities” that includes blessings for same-sex couples. Tatchell, nevertheless, pointed out the Vatican under Francis’s papacy continued to oppose marriage equality and trans rights.
“The Catholic Church remains a force for discrimination and suffering,” said Tatchell. “Under his leadership, the Vatican continued to oppose same-sex marriage and trans rights. Catholic bishops lobbied against the decriminalization of homosexuality in many parts of the world. The Vatican still upholds the homophobic edicts of the Catechism, which denounces the sexual expression of same-sex love as a ‘grave depravity’ and ‘intrinsically disordered.’ Francis’s legacy is, therefore, a mixed one — offering some progress but leaving deep-rooted inequalities largely intact.”
Vance met with Francis on Easter Sunday
Francis earlier this year spent more than a month in a Rome hospital after he developed double pneumonia.
He met with Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, hours before his death.
The pope had previously criticized the Trump-Vance administration over its immigration policies.
“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis,” said Vance on X after the Vatican announced Francis’s death. “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”
I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.
I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 21, 2025
Argentine President Javier Milei, who previously criticized Francis, mourned him in a statement he posted to X. Milei also announced Argentina will observe seven days of mourning.
“It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace,” said Milei. “Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honor for me.”
“As president, as an Argentine, and, fundamentally, as a man of faith, I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us who meet today with this sad news,” he added.
ADIÓS
Con profundo dolor me entero esta triste mañana que el Papa Francisco, Jorge Bergoglio, falleció hoy y ya se encuentra descansando en paz. A pesar de diferencias que hoy resultan menores, haber podido conocerlo en su bondad y sabiduría fue un verdadero honor para mí.… pic.twitter.com/3dPPFoNWBr— Javier Milei (@JMilei) April 21, 2025
Mexico
Gay couple claims Puerto Vallarta wedding venue discriminated against them
Jeremy Alexander and Ryan Sheepwash wanted to get married at Sheraton hotel
A gay couple claims a hotel in a Mexican resort city that is popular with LGBTQ travelers discriminated against them when they tried to book their wedding.
Jeremy Alexander and Ryan Sheepwash in a TikTok video said they contacted the Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center in Puerto Vallarta about holding their wedding at the property.
The couple, who live in Vernon, British Columbia, provided the Washington Blade with an invoice that Gabriela Espinoza, a wedding planner at the property, sent them on Jan. 17, 2025.
The invoice said 25 “deluxe ocean view room — all inclusive” rooms cost $970 a night. The total cost for the 25 rooms was $72,750.
Alexander in the TikTok video said it took Espinoza three months to send them the quote. The property, according to Alexander, requested a $36,000 deposit for half of the rooms.
“It’s not reasonable,” he said. “No one can afford that.”
Alexander said Espinoza told him and Sheepwash that the earliest they could have their wedding at the property was March 2027. Alexander in the TikTok video said he and Sheepwash asked a straight friend to “request a quote just to see apples to apples what it looks like.”
Ximena Esparza, another wedding planner at the property, on Feb. 7, 2025, sent the friend a quote for 25 rooms for a hypothetical wedding that was to have taken place from Feb. 19-26, 2026.
The quote for a “deluxe package” for 50 people was $8,500 and required a 20 percent deposit of $1,700.
“We just feel defeated,” said Sheepwash in the TikTok video. “It’s not fair because we love each other and we really want to get married, and we want to make it special and we want to make it perfect.”
@illuminaughtytriangle So disappointed that my fiancée and I got discriminated against by #Sheraton in #puertovallarta ♬ original sound – Jeremy Alexander
The Blade in 2019 reported the Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center refused to allow Josh Rimer, a gay Canadian vlogger and television host who is also Mr. Gay Canada 2019, and his then-fiancé to hold their wedding at the property.
The invoice that Espinoza sent to Alexander and Sheepwash notes the hotel is “operated under license from Marriott International, Inc., or one of its affiliates.”
A spokesperson for Marriott, which is based in Bethesda, Md., and is Sheraton’s parent company, in response to Rimer’s allegation said the corporation reached out to him to express “our sincerest apologies for his experience.”
“We are troubled and greatly concerned about the experience reported by Mr. Rimer. Marriott has long been committed to providing an environment where all are welcome including our LGBTQ guests and their loved ones,” said the spokesperson. “In addition, we are looking further into the matter to better understand what happened and do what we can to prevent hurtful experiences like this from happening again.”
A Marriot spokesperson on Thursday told the Blade the company has “reached out to Mr. Sheepwash and Mr. Alexander to learn more about their experience and are working with the property to offer a solution.”
“The Sheraton Buganvilias has been active in the LGBTQ+ community in Puerto Vallarta for years, hosting LGBTQ+ weddings and groups and also supporting Pride events in Puerto Vallarta,” said the spokesperson. “Marriott remains steadfast in our commitment to ensure guests are treated with respect and understanding.”
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