Five Police Officers Detained After Raid at Venezuelan LGBTQ Venue

Five police officers were detained in Venezuela after non-governmental organizations reported an illegal raid, acts of extortion, and the apprehension of at least 33 men at an LGBTI+ entertainment venue in Lara state on Saturday, the Attorney General’s Office announced Sunday, along with the opening of an investigation.

According to the prosecutor’s statement, the national police (PNB) “promptly activated its internal control mechanisms” and handed five of its officers over to the Attorney General’s Office; they are to be brought before a control court within the coming hours.

The institution also announced the assignment of “the 21st Prosecutor’s Office of Lara state, jointly with the 98th National Prosecutor’s Office with jurisdiction over human rights protection and gender diversity,” to conduct the criminal investigation “in relation to the alleged raid and the carrying out of acts contrary to public ethics” in Barquisimeto, the regional capital.

“Hate incidents”
On Sunday, the Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Violence, Caleidoscopio Humano, and the Somos Movement condemned the police, reporting that the plainclothes police officers “accused those present of ‘committing the crime of homosexuality,’ according to the victims.”

In a statement, they asserted that this “serious event not only violates the rights of the establishment’s owners but also criminalizes and subjects people to public humiliation.”

The NGOs demanded an “immediate and exhaustive investigation to identify and sanction those responsible.”

Activist Romario Sánchez of the Somos Movement told EFE that, counting this incident, there have been raids—which he described as “hate incidents”—on at least eight LGBTI+ venues since 2020 in Caracas and other cities, including Maracaibo, Valencia, and Mérida. On the social media network X, Somos director Jau Ramírez stated that the operation “involved at least 12 officers identified by the victims, including the commanders” of a PNB division in Lara.

In July 2023, 33 men were detained at an LGBTI+ venue in Carabobo state in the north, accused of “outrage against decency,” as well as “unlawful association and noise pollution,” and released days later following widespread protests from various sectors.

On May 9, Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez requested that the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court develop a “doctrine on sexual diversity” as “a fundamental human right.”

In Venezuela, transgender people are legally required to identify with a name that does not represent them, and same-sex couples have no right to marry, among other prohibitions that drive the struggles of the LGBTI+ community.

Across Latin America, the majority of countries continue to forbid legitimate marriages among couples of the same sex. This is most likely a result of the pervasive influence of Roman Catholicism across the region. However, numerous countries have recently legalized same-sex marriages, led by Argentina in 2010 and Brazil in 2013. Seven Latin American countries have followed suit. In 2022, Mexico, Cuba, and Chile legally recognized same-sex marriages. A 2023 poll by the Equilibrium–Center for Economic Development (Equilibrium CenDE) found that 41% of Venezuelans “totally supported” same-sex marriage.

Statement from the Office of the People’s Advocate
The Office of the People’s Advocate also reported Sunday evening that it had received complaints from members of the LGBTI+ community and was working to address them.

A Debt to the LGBTQ+: Venezuela’s Legal and Social Recognition of Sexual Diversity

 

 

 

(Alba Ciudad) with Orinoco Tribune content.

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/CB/SL