Javier Milei referred for the first time to the arrest of Nahuel Gallothe gendarme detained in Venezuela by the Nicolás Maduro regime. The Argentine President called the Chavista leader “criminal dictator” and said that his Government is working for the release of the officer.
The president’s words were expressed this Tuesday during an event held at the Buenos Aires Military College, where he led a presentation of sabers and medals.
In this context, he began his speech by referring to the kidnapping of the gendarme from the province of Catamarca, who has been deprived of his freedom since last December 8.
“First of all, and before starting the speech, I want to refer to the illegal kidnapping of Nahuel Gallo in Venezuela. “He was detained by the Security Forces in charge of the criminal dictator Nicolás Maduro for the sole crime of visiting his partner and his son,” Milei began saying.
Then, and while Argentina accelerates diplomatic efforts to increase pressure on Maduro, the President remarked: “We demand his immediate release and we will exhaust all diplomatic channels to return him safely to Argentina.”.
Since Javier Milei condemned fraud in the July presidential elections and recognized the victory of Edmundo González Urrutia, Maduro expelled Argentine diplomacy from Venezuela. Consequently, the country was left without consular representation and Brasilia assumed the protection of its residence.
This point complicates the current efforts for Gallo’s release. And for this reason, to resolve the Argentine’s situation, the local authorities have already requested consular support from Brazil.
In addition, the Milei Government is exploring multiple avenues to achieve safe passage and a way out of the situation. Gerardo Werthein, the Argentine foreign minister, is the one who leads the external efforts to add interlocutors to put pressure on the Bolivarian regime.
First Corporal Gallo is a native of the Argentine province of Catamarca, but is part of the 27th squadron of “Uspallata”, in Mendoza, and guarded the Cristo Redentor de Horcones Pass, on the border between Chile and Argentina. He was on annual leave and had traveled legitimately to Venezuela, with authorization from the Gendarmerie, to visit his partner and son. He had no links to intelligence operations or official activities.
The arrest of the Argentine gendarme was at the land border crossing, crossing the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge, to go to the Venezuelan town of Táchira.
Gallo traveled from the capital of Mendoza to Venezuela with a stopover in Colombia to reduce travel costs. According to records, he made Migrations in the coffee-growing country at 7:40 on Sunday.
At 8 he carried out immigration in Venezuela and was detained there. I had a flight at 11 from the San Antonio del Táchira Airport to Caracas. He was never able to get on the plane. The last contact with his family was at 10:54 on December 8, when he told his partner that he was kidnapped.
According to the Minister of Security of Argentina, Patricia Bullrich, Gallo is housed in a base of the Venezuelan Intelligence Services in Táchira.
