This Saturday, October 31, hundreds of Venezuelans protested in Caracas to demand LGBTQI rights, such as equal marriage, legal protection for same-sex parent families, and the punishment of discrimination and hate. The protesters also showed solidarity with those affected by the double earthquake last June.“Today, we decided to take to the streets of Caracas with a double objective, first to show solidarity with all the victims who were affected by the double earthquake, and second, to raise our banners of struggle,” Richell Briceño, a lawyer and activist, told mainstream media from Chacaíto in the east of Caracas.The demonstration, which had been scheduled for June, was postponed because of the double earthquake that affected northern Venezuela, especially the coastal state of La Guaira.Briceño said that this week, they went to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), in central Caracas, to demand that cases concerning the LGBTQI community that have been pending for over a decade be ruled on, taking into consideration that, in May, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez requested a doctrine on diversity from the TSJ Constitutional Chamber.The LGTBI community demands recognition of marriage between two people of the same sex, protection for same-sex parent families, punishment of discrimination, as well as a ban on the criminalization within the Bolivarian National Armed Force of personnel with “diverse sexual orientations.”The young Paola Berra, 20, told mainstream media that she marches to make a society “healthier” regarding LGBTQI rights. “We are holding our LGBTI community back, and it has to change; it is already 2026,” she said.The Defender Delegate for Caracas, Bruno Gallo, told the crowd that the country remains in debt “to those who are different” and must stand up for them. “All of us who hold positions of responsibility have a duty to support them, so at the Ombudsman’s Office, the doors are open to receive petitions to demand the expansion of rights that are already enshrined,” he added.In Venezuela, gay men are not allowed to donate blood in public hospitals, transgender people are legally required to identify with a name that does not represent them, and same-sex couples do not have the right to marry.Marco Rubio’s Covert Bribery Scheme to Distribute Business Opportunities in VenezuelaIn May, five police officers were detained in Venezuela after NGOs reported an illegal raid, acts of extortion, and the arrest of at least 33 men in an LGBTQI entertainment venue in Lara state. The Prosecutor General’s Office reported the arrests at the time, and an investigation was launched. (Alba Ciudad)Translation: Orinoco TribuneOT/JRE/SF