Liliana Castañeda is a tireless Colombian advocate. She has been seen at numerous public hearings addressing the proposed ban on conversion therapies, the “Trans Law,” specialized justice systems with a “gender perspective,” and the creation of the Ministry of Equality.

Alongside pro-life and pro-family activists Evaristo Gutiérrez and Jonathan Silva, she has championed a legislative bill — first introduced in 2023 — that seeks to ban “gender reassignment” treatments for minors.

Although she has been able to present arguments grounded in neuropsychology (a field in which she holds a master’s degree), over time she has also successfully garnered support from universities, lawyers, physicians, and politicians — such as Senator Lorena Ríos.

At the Congress of the Republic, Castañeda serves as a legislative advisor on issues ranging from opposition to the gender agenda to the legalization of recreational cannabis use and assisted suicide. She is a formidable scourge against wokeism. This was clearly demonstrated during her appearances in the documentary “Colombia: Fábrica de Niños Trans” (Colombia: Factory for Trans Children), a film that exposes a macabre industry.

Here is my interview with Liliana.

What is the current landscape regarding gender transition in children in Colombia, as of the premiere of the documentary “Colombia: Fábrica de Niños Trans?”

Unfortunately, we do not have exact figures. In Colombia, the various clinics that have administered medical “gender affirmation” treatments have not made public any detailed information regarding how many minors have undergone these types of procedures.

However, it did come to light — following a judicial inquiry — that the Valle del Lili Foundation reported having administered these treatments to 80 minors nationwide by the year 2025.

You mentioned your involvement in drafting a legislative bill that calls for a ban on “gender reassignment” treatments for children.

Yes. The first time we formally introduced the bill, I developed the entire scientific rationale behind it. Later, I received support from a physician. For three consecutive years now, we have been fighting to ensure that — at the very least — a first debate takes place, yet it has not been possible; the opposition has been very strong.

What we have managed to achieve is to participate in several public hearings. God allowed me to be one of the first people to speak before the Congress of the Republic regarding mental health aspects of these treatments — specifically focusing on neuroscience and neuropsychology — during my first intervention in 2023.

Also present that day was the pediatrician and endocrinologist Mario Angulo, though he was there to advocate for gender “affirmation” treatments for minors. He is the most prominent figure defending that position. On that occasion, we found ourselves facing off with opposing viewpoints right there in the room.

The documentary “Colombia: Fábrica de Niños Trans” — produced by the Mexican YouTuber Samuel Adrián, in which you appear as one of the interviewees — has sent shockwaves through the Colombian public agenda. What are the most significant allegations or revelations it exposes to the general public?

The documentary revealed how the first gender clinic for minors in Colombia — the Valle del Lili Foundation in Cali — was performing gender transition procedures without informed consent and without comprehensive psychological and psychiatric evaluations.

Furthermore, it exposed the fact that they neither investigated the underlying causes that led various children and adolescents to develop gender dysphoria, nor did they adequately treat the associated disorders and traumas.

At the center of the documentary is Laura, the young woman who was the very first case treated by the clinic in question shortly after it opened in 2017.

Yes. While she was still a minor, she was subjected to cross-sex hormone therapy using testosterone, followed by puberty blockers. Later on, once she turned 18, they even managed to convince her to undergo a double mastectomy.

As time went by, Laura realized that the root cause of her gender dysphoria was linked to the sexual abuse she had suffered when she was just five years old. However, the clinic never addressed that trauma, nor did it focus treatment on helping her heal psychologically and come to terms with her biological sex.

Today, at 23, Laura lives with deep regret over the interventions she underwent, and she suffers every day from the physical and emotional consequences they left her with. One of these is that she will never be able to breastfeed.

For all these reasons — including medical malpractice — she filed a lawsuit against the Fundación Valle del Lili clinic.

What have been the most notable repercussions following the release of the documentary?

Most importantly, this week — in the wake of the documentary’s impact — intense public pressure emerged, leading the Valle del Lili Foundation to completely shut down its gender transition unit for minors and to terminate its affiliation with Dr. Mario Angulo.

We celebrate this outcome with profound joy, alongside the millions of Colombians and Latinos who have joined our cause. It has been a deeply significant moment because, after years of fighting to protect children, we are finally seeing the fruits of our efforts. It marks the first time that a halt has been put to medical practices deemed inappropriate for minors.

And on the other side of things, what kind of pressure are the filmmakers currently facing?

Following the premiere on November 26 of last year, the director, Samuel Adrián, came under pressure not to release the documentary.

Dr. Mario Angulo — who treated Laura and dozens of other minors — felt aggrieved by the publication of statements he had recorded for the documentary. In those statements, he himself admitted that the pharmacological treatments administered by the clinic caused sterility and bone-related issues in minors.

For this reason, he filed a legal complaint against Samuel Adrián. Although his initial appeals were rejected on two separate occasions, a judge issued a sanction against Samuel in a third instance, which included a prison sentence and a fine.

Currently, there is an active arrest warrant for Samuel in Colombia, based on the determination that the doctor’s “reputation” and “good name” were violated.

The reputation of the doctor who was rendering minors infertile?

Yes.