LGBT rights in Paraguay binding on Costa Rica and sets a binding precedent for other Latin American and Caribbean countries including Paraguay. There is currently a lawsuit to recognize same-sex marriage that relies on the IACHR ruling pending with the courts. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Paraguay since 1880. The age of consent in Paraguay is 16 for homosexuals and 14 for heterosexuals. During the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989, LGBT people faced heavy persecution and were forced to maintain secret lives. On 1 September 1959, a fire broke out in the capital city of Asunción. Bernardo Aranda, a
Paraguay other neighboring countries, especially those currently governed by leftist leaders, as a coup d'état. However, the Organization of American States, which sent a mission to Paraguay to gather information, concluded that the impeachment process was not a coup d'état, as it had been carried out in accordance with the Constitution of Paraguay. From August 2013 to 15 August 2018, the President of Paraguay was Horacio Cartes. Since 15 August 2018 the current President of Paraguay is Mario Abdo Benítez. Paraguay is divided by the Río Paraguay into two well differentiated geographic regions. The eastern region (Región Oriental); and the western