Latin America in Short: Colombia On The Road To Peace and Minister in Brazil Resigns

A busy week in terms of Latin American and global politics and in sports and environmental terms. Europe rejects homophobia and in Colombia there has been a public recognition of responsibility for the crime of kidnapping by the FARC guerrilla, Ingrid Betancourt meets face to face with her captors.

Europe unites to reject homophobic law in Hungary

17 European Union countries raised their voices in protest against the law recently approved by the Government of Víktor Orbán, considering it discriminatory against the LGBTI community.

Among the highlights are Angela Merkel (Germany), Emmanuel Macron (France), Pedro Sánchez (Spain), Mario Draghi (Italy), among others. The controversial Hungarian law recently approved prohibits the mention of homosexuality in schools and prevents content related to that sexual orientation in audiovisual or printed material that can be accessed by minors under 18 years of age.

Colombia: FARC victims and perpetrators meet face to face

During the week, the public recognition of responsibility for the crime of kidnapping was carried out, organized by the Truth Commission, framed in the Peace process signed between the FARC guerrilla and the Colombian State. During the event, different victims of the armed group looked directly at those responsible for the kidnapping and demanded sincere acts of repentance.

Former Colombian presidential candidate and kidnapping victim Ingrid Betancurt stated that "one day we will have to cry together for the suffering of you [former FARC combatants], for which you caused us [victims of kidnapping by the armed group] and our families, and for the suffering in Colombia that we see today in the boys who are in the streets. "

Also read: Infographic: Is Duque's Police Reform Enough For Colombian Protesters?

The Minister of the Environment resigns in Brazil

Last Wednesday, June 23, the resignation of Ricardo Salles, Minister of the Environment of the current government of Jair Bolsonaro, was announced. In recent months, Salles has been accused and questioned for corruption and timber trafficking.

About a month ago, the Supreme Court of Justice of Brazil ordered the opening of an investigation for an alleged link with agents of logging and illegal timber smuggling in the Brazilian Amazon. This is one of the regions that has been most affected by Bolsonaro's little or no environmentalist position.

Although Salles denied the allegations at the time, his sudden resignation has given national and international environmental organizations to talk about. Bolsonaro made his resignation official and appointed Alvaro Pereira Leita as the new minister.

For the first time an NFL player comes out of the closet

Las Vegas Raiders lineman Carl Nassib made history Monday by becoming the first NFL player to come out of the closet. "I just wanted to take a moment to say that I am gay," Nassib said in a video posted on his Instagram account. "I've been meaning to do this for a while but I finally feel comfortable taking it off my chest." Nassib, 28, went viral with the ad. So much so that his jersey, number 94, was the top seller on the Fanatics sales network both on the day of the announcement and the following Tuesday. The original video in which Nassib makes the announcement already has more than 700,000 views.