Argentine television gets its first transgender news anchor

Diana Zurco did not attend her high school graduation because she refused to receive a diploma with her birth name. At 17 and considered a boy by school officials, she grew her hair long and adopted the name Diana after the alien character on the show “V” about an extraterrestrial invasion.

Now 40, she recalled her youthful rebellion while sitting in a comfortable chair in the studio of Argentina's public television station ahead of her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population.

“My presence challenges society,” she said in the smooth voice of a professional announcer that she used on Monday when she began her job as co-anchor of Public Television's prime time evening news program.

In this March 5, 2020 photo, Diana Zurco has her makeup applied before a rehearsal for her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her job as a co-anchor of Public Television's prime time evening news program is a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population. (AP PhotoVictor R. Caivano)

"It is an invitation to society that says: 'This is me; behind me there are more people like me who want to express themselves. We are capable, we can study, we can train ourselves, we can communicate to you what is happening in our country,'" Zurco told The Associated Press in an interview.

The government estimates Argentina has between 12,000 and 13,000 transgender adults out of a population that exceeds 44 million.

“It is a small group and ordinary people don’t know a trans firsthand. This lack of connection in daily life fuels prejudice and discrimination,” said Esteban Paulón, executive director of the Institute for LGBT+ Public Policies.

In this March 5, 2020 photo, Diana Zurco stands at the table for news anchors during a rehearsal for her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her job as a co-anchor of Public Television's prime time evening news program is a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population. (AP PhotoVictor R. Caivano)

Zurco’s presence as a newscaster "will let prejudiced society begin to see that trans people are like everyone else," the activist said.

According to official figures in Argentina, the average life expectancy of a transgender person is 41 years.

"Why do trans people live such short lives?” Zurco asked. “Because they are in a situation marked by family exclusion. A high percentage of trans girls in our country are expelled from their homes at a young age. And in the absence of opportunities, their bodies end up being their merchandise, their job."

In this March 5, 2020 photo, Diana Zurco poses with fellow anchors during a rehearsal for her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her job as a co-anchor of Public Television's prime time evening news program is a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population. (AP PhotoVictor R. Caivano)

In the first six months of 2019, 68 crimes against the LGBT community were reported in Argentina. More than half of those were against transvestite, transsexual and transgender women, according to the National Observatory of LGBT Hate Crimes.

Zurco studied in a Catholic school until at age 17 she said: "I am Diana. I'm not a gay, effeminate boy. I'm a trans boy." The school priests forced boys to cut their hair above the collars of their shirts. She refused, kept her hair long and was expelled a year before graduating. She completed her studies in a public school but, "I didn't go to receive the degree because I didn’t want to be called by my male name," she said.

Zurco admitted she came close to prostitution, but took a hairdressing course and started earning money sweeping up cut hair in a beauty salon. She also worked in an office and later took a difficult exam among 1,500 applicants to study for a career as an announcer.

In this March 5, 2020 photo, Diana Zurco poses for a photo at the table for news anchors during a rehearsal for her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her job as a co-anchor of Public Television's prime time evening news program is a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population. (AP PhotoVictor R. Caivano)

The course began in 2012, the same year Argentina’s Congress approved a law that lets people choose the gender they register in official documents. So far, 9,000 transgender people have used the law, which also guarantees access to free sex-change surgeries and hormonal treatments.

Only three provinces, including Buenos Aires, have equipment to carry out these operations in public hospitals, however, and the economic crisis also slowed down the supply of treatments, according to Paulón.

Up to now, transgender women on Argentine television have largely been limited to entertainment programs or soap operas.

In this March 5, 2020 photo, a producer watches Diana Zurco, dressed in red, during a rehearsal for her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her job as a co-anchor of Public Television's prime time evening news program is a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population. (AP PhotoVictor R. Caivano)

“We didn’t look for Diana because she was a trans announcer. We looked for her because she was a very good professional,” said Rosario Lufrano, president of Radio and Television Argentina. “The only way to get there is to have the doors opened for you. We all know how difficult it is for these women to win a spot.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."

After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.

It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)