Buenos Aires, Argentina — Argentine military police officer Nahuel Gallo, detained in Venezuela since December 2024, urged the international community on Wednesday to release 24 foreign nationals held in the notorious Rodeo I prison in Venezuela.
Gallo, who was released Sunday after spending 448 days in custody in a prison outside Caracas, said he would not be free until the 24 foreigners regained their freedom.
“My mind is still in prison,” the official told a news conference in Buenos Aires, where he appeared alongside several top officials, including Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, who thanked Argentina’s allies, including the United States, Italy and Israel, for helping secure Gallo’s release.
Gallo was arrested on December 8, 2024 while on vacation to visit his family. The officer, who was based in Mendoza, Argentina’s central province at the time, was arrested on espionage charges, according to Argentina’s foreign ministry.
Venezuela’s attorney general at the time, Tarek William Saab, said Gallo “attempted to enter Venezuelan territory irregularly” and was “hiding his true criminal plan under the guise of a romantic visit.”
Saab accused him of being linked to “international right-wing groups”.
The Argentine government, however, said the official had traveled to Venezuela to visit his partner and their son.
Hours before Wednesday’s news briefing, a federal judge in Argentina subpoenaed Gallo to testify in a case investigating crimes against humanity attributed to the government of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
According to a subpoena issued by Argentine judge Sebastian Ramos and obtained by The Associated Press, “Gallo may provide his knowledge of the events under investigation, which were reportedly carried out by the Venezuelan state apparatus.”
Gallo did not mention the subpoena during the briefing or indicate whether he intended to testify. Instead, he requested time and patience from the press, saying he was not yet ready to reveal everything he had experienced.
“I still can’t talk about the atrocities they committed,” Gallo said.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
(Tags to translate)Espionage(T)Prisons(T)Politics(T)General News(T)World News(T)Article(T)130769950
