Here's everything to know about LGBTQ+ rights in Venezuela

Marriage equality in Venezuela 

Venezuela does not have marriage equality, nor does it offer legal recognition for same-sex couples. Same-sex adoption is also not legal, though single adoption is.

The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice points out that Article 77 of the country's constitution states, "Marriage, which is based on free consent and absolute equality of rights and obligations of the spouses, is protected. A stable de facto union between a man and a woman which meets the requirements established by law shall have the same effects as marriage."

Same-sex sexual relations are not — and have never been — formally criminalized in the country, though LGBTQ+ people have often been targeted under decency laws.

Venezuela's LGBTQ+ protections

The Venezuelan Constitution protects against hate crimes, with offenses motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity considered aggravating circumstances. Legal protections exist in employment, banking, and housing based on sexual orientation, but protections based on gender identity only exist in housing.

"No discrimination based on race, sex, creed or social standing shall be permitted, nor, in general, any discrimination with the intent or effect of nullifying or encroaching upon the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on equal terms, of the rights and liberties of every individual," Article 21 states.

Men who have sex with men are still banned from donating blood in Venezuela, but the Supreme Court of Justice annulled section 565 of the Military Justice Code in 2023, which banned armed forces members from engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activities.

Transgender rights in Venezuela

Venezuela does not currently allow citizens to change their gender on identification documents, though few cases have been granted following medical and psychological examinations. From 1977 to 1998, the country permitted transgender individuals legal recognition so long as they had undergone surgery, though this ended when Hugo Chavez imposed a new constitution.

Gender-affirming care such as hormone replacement therapy is not widely available in Venezuela. A 2023 report from the Department of State under Joe Biden found that "transgender and intersex persons [are] not provided adequate medical services, including hormone therapy and psychological support."

"Maduro representatives systematically denied recognition to transgender, intersex, and nonbinary persons by refusing to issue them identity documents in their preferred gender," the report stated. "As identity documents were required for access to education, employment, housing, health care, and other services, these discriminatory actions often led transgender and intersex persons to become victims of human trafficking."

Venezuela's first transgender legislator

Tamara Adrian, an out trans woman who worked as a lawyer and university professor, was elected to the National Assembly of Venezuela in 2015 at the age of 61, becoming the first out trans elected official in the country and the second out trans legislator within the Americas. She is a member of the progressive pro-LGBTQ+ Popular Will party, which stands in opposition to Maduro's PSUV.

After traveling to Thailand in 2002 to receive gender-affirming surgery, Adrian appealed to the Venezuelan Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court to recognize her gender identity in May 2004. She has yet to receive a reply to her appeal.

"Despite the euphoria of being part of such a historic moment, to be a politician — transgender or not — in the new Venezuela can be described in one word: frustrating," Adrian wrote in a 2017 essay for The Advocate. "As a human rights activist and now an elected leader, I find it endlessly frustrating that no single legislative advancement regarding LGBTI rights has been achieved during the 17 years of Chavist domination of the National Assembly. And given the state of the country today, it has been impossible to push forward the much-needed laws granting equal rights to our communities."

LGBTQ+ activists targeted in Venezuela 

Despite same-sex sexual relations being legal in Venezuela, authorities have used vagrancy laws to disproportionately target the LGBTQ+ community. One notable example is the 2023 raid of popular queer sauna Avalon Club, which resulted in 33 being arrested on noise level and public indecency charges.

Multiple LGBTQ+ activists were detained by Venezuelan authorities in 2024 without charge. Yendri Velásquez, coordinator of the Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Violence, was arrested at an airport in August and held incommunicado for six hours after being told his passport was nullified. The same month, activist Kody Campos was almost arrested when officials conducted a warrantless search of his home, leaving only after they realized he was live-streaming the raid.

What LGBTQ+ legislators are saying about Trump's takeover

LGBTQ+ U.S. lawmakers have been among some of the most vocal in condemning Trump's abduction of Maduro and invasion of Venezuela. Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, the first out trans member of Congress, continued to say that "I fully support a renewed and urgent push for new War Powers Resolutions to prevent further military action in Venezuela and to forbid the expansion of this reckless pursuit of other countries' natural resources."

"Health care premiums are skyrocketing, housing is too expensive, groceries and prescription drugs too often break the bank — and now Donald Trump wants to put American lives and money on the line so that his billionaire buddies can get even richer off of other country’s oil and minerals," McBride wrote. "The American people do not want another generation of forever wars — and neither do I."

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California, co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said in a post online that "this war against Venezuela is unconstitutional and a dangerous action from an out of control President."

"Trump has now made it clear: this is about the oil, and he intends for the United States to run the country," Garcia wrote. "Maduro is a brutal dictator, but that does not justify these actions without Congressional approval. Instead of focusing on costs and affordability here at home, Trump wants more foreign wars. Congress must vote on a war powers action immediately."

Democratic Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont said in a statement that the decision "brings us further down the dangerous path of abandoning our democratic principles, consolidating power, and destroying our Constitution."

“Nicolás Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator, and Venezuelans have suffered greatly under his regime. That does not diminish the fact that President Trump has zero authority to use military force to remove the leader of another sovereign country," Balint said. "This unilateral military action was reckless, illegal and taken without any congressional briefing, approval or oversight."