The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) This Friday condemned the arbitrary detention of Nahuel Gallo, agent of the Argentine National Gendarmerie, by the Chavista regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, describing it as an “crime against humanity” within the framework of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In an official statement, the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, stated that Gallo’s detention represents a flagrant violation of international norms, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, as he was held incommunicado and deprived of consular and legal assistance. “These events are further proof of the systematic violation of fundamental human rights by the Venezuelan regime”he asserted.
And he demanded “that the Venezuelan regime comply with international treaties and agreements on human rights and international relations; that certifies and guarantees your physical security; that provides guarantees of legal assistance and contact with his family; and to immediately release Nahuel Gallo.”
The Argentine government also reiterated this Friday its demand for Venezuela to release Nahuel Gallo, after images of the gendarme detained since December 8 were released in the last few hours.
The Argentine Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich said that Javier Milei’s government will not accept “any game of a photo appearing in an unknown place, without sound and without a date.” On Thursday night, Argentine media published a photo and a short video in which Gallo is allegedly seen walking in a roofless but closed enclosure that is not identifiable.
In statements to Radio MitreBullrich acknowledged that it was Gallo due to “details” that he did not want to specify, but described as a “pantomime” the dissemination of the images that he attributed to the Nicolás Maduro regime. “The only thing that Argentina accepts is that Nahuel Gallo be put on a plane and sent to Argentina. “It’s the only condition,” stated the minister, who questioned Maduro for trying to “show that they have Gallo well, as if it were a normal regime.”
“This is a dictatorship and dictatorships do these things: they give proof of life,” he added.
This Thursday, Argentina presented a complaint before the International Criminal Court for the arrest of the gendarme and asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to adopt precautionary measures in this case.
This Friday, the IACHR issued Resolution 1/2025, through which granted precautionary measures for the benefit of Nahuel Agustín Gallodue to the lack of official information about his whereabouts. The organization indicated that the Argentine gendarme “is in a serious and urgent situation”.
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Gallo, a member of the Argentine National Gendarmerie (border police), entered the territory of Venezuela from Colombia on December 8, through a land border crossing, and crossed the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge to head to the Venezuelan state of Táchira (west), for the purpose of visiting your partnerwith whom he has a son.
According to information provided by the IACHR, when he was arrested, Gallo had all the necessary documents, including a valid passport and a round-trip ticket, and planned to stay at his partner’s residence during his stay. However, after a review of documents, the authorities of the Bolivarian regime took him aside for an “interview,” confiscated his phone and left him incommunicado.
Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein stated that Gallo’s case “is conclusive proof of the serious violations of international law and fundamental human rights” in Venezuela.
(With information from EFE)
